Apr 04 2008 9:54 am,
Profile: Blood Red Shoes
Words: Stephen Brolan
The cat’s out of the bag. ‘Box Of Secrets’, Blood Red Shoes’ eagerly anticipated debut album, is finally unleashed and is everything it promised – a raw-edged rasp of a record as infectious as Pandora’s chicken pox, twatting you right square in the gob with all the ferocity of a blood-soaked Doc Marten. Hardly surprising it’s got some aggro, given that one half of this partnership’s history derives from
“That whole punk scene is just a laugh,” Ansell declares. “I’ve been guilty of this myself, but they’ve got this set of rules, and if anyone breaks them, abuse is hurled. It’s the least punk thing in the world. A lot of people miss the point and take [punk] as a certain look or certain type of music, but it’s more to do with attitude – and we still have that.”
You quickly get the impression from the vociferous Ansell that defending himself from such snobbery has become second nature. Signing to major label V2, for instance, surely couldn’t have appeased the holier-than-thou naysayers much.
“Dude, we were called sell-outs even before [signing to V2],” he spits. “All we did was work on the songs, and as soon as we got a chorus, the punk kids in
Another thing Ansell is more than used to by now is the are-they/aren’t-they (going at it) tittle-tattle that inevitably goes hand-in-hand with a boy-girl set-up. When you see them live, mind, there is definitely a tangible magnetism.
“People go on about sexual energy, and I think it’s more perceived than real,” Ansell asserts, before adding: “The first time we played together we didn’t really know each other at all. And for whatever reason, it just clicked. It’s really rare for that to happen, and I can’t explain why. We’ve developed into this weird, semi-telepathic unit.”
That their debut is called ‘Box Of Secrets’ would surely only serve to fuel speculation that not all is as it seems in nob-and-fanny land. However, The Fly is not tittle-tattle, and instead postulates that, if there HAD been rumpy-pumpy, the unique connection they so obviously possess would have been diluted.
“I think you might be right,” Ansell affirms. “The energy between us has definitely morphed into something different. And if we had ended up sleeping together, I don’t think we’d be doing this any more – it would have fucked everything up.”
The Fly is cock-a-hoop to hear “fucked” finally slotted into some kind of literal context. And on the heels of that, a metaphor emerges: that Blood Red Shoes, eschewing carnal knowledge with each other, have instead entered into one another on a more spiritual plane, resulting in the sonic orgasm so apparent in their sound.
“There you go – that’s it!” Ansell exclaims. “Our band is musical fucking!”
Be sure you bring protection, mind. This sex is unsafe.
‘Box Of Secrets’ is released on V2 on April 14th.
