Powerhouse British duo Blood Red Shoes brings new music to the Kilowatt
SAN FRANCISCO -- Kinetic British alternative-rock duo Blood Red Shoes play their first headlining San Francisco show in a decade at the Kilowatt Wednesday night.
The explosive partnership of guitarist/singer Laura-May Carter and drummer/singer Steven Ansell came together in late 2004 after the dissolution of the two Brighton-based musicians' previous bands. Matching Ansell's volcanic drumming with Carter's corrosive riffs and the pair's knack for tandem and call-and-response vocals, Blood Red Shoes independently produced its raw debut vinyl EP less than a year after the band started and quickly earned a buzz with their fiery sound.
The duo released a series of singles featuring songs that recalled the tuneful dynamics of the Pixies and Nirvana as well as the stripped-down, frenetic intensity of NYC dance-punk band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs that led to a record deal with V2 to issue their savage debut album Box of Secrets in 2008. Propulsive anthems like "You Bring Me Down," "I Wish I Was Someone Better" and "It's Getting Boring by the Sea" coupled with a growing reputation for their cathartic, sweat-drenched live performances made Blood Red Shoes a festival favorite in the UK and Europe (including an appearance at All Tomorrow's Parties after an invitation by curating band the Breeders).
The band further refined their stripped-down approach with help from Arctic Monkeys producer on Fire Like This two years later. The use of one of their songs on the soundtrack to the cult Edgar Wright film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World exposed the band's compelling music to more ears stateside, but BRS has inexplicably not made its way onto U.S. airwaves despite the obvious radio-ready appeal of their songs. The pair followed up with two more acclaimed albums -- 2012's In Time To Voices and their self-produced eponymous album in 2014 that was recorded in Berlin -- but has remained largely a UK phenomenon.
Though they went through a period of quiet after the digital-only rarities compilation Tied at the Wrist came out in 2015, the band finally released its first new song in two years entitled "Eye to Eye in the spring of 2017. Two more tunes including the glitchy electronic-tinged "Bangsar" and "God Complex" followed, but their fourth effort, the industrial-influenced Get Tragic wouldn't see the light of day until early 2019. In addition to taking a different sonic direction that at times echoed the sounds of Nine Inch Nails and Gary Numan, the songs also featured several collaborations with outside artists including fellow Brighton band the Wytches and British songwriters Ed Harcourt and Clarence Clarity. The duo additionally toured for the first time with an expanded live line-up that included Savages bassist Ayse Hassan.
The pair immediately dove into writing new songs after the release of Get Tragic, but pushed back plans to issue a follow-up so quickly once the planet largely shut down due to COVID-19. Unable to tour, Blood Red Shoes turned inward and wrote more music. Their six-song Ø EP came out in 2021, followed by Ghosts on Tape at the beginning of last year.
The latest salvo of tunes finds the band continuing to mine a more moody, synthesizer-focused sound -- the members admitted to being under the thrall of Depeche Mode and Tears for Fears while making the album -- but the duo's trademark ferocity and gift for earworm melodies remains intact. Blood Red Shoes played its first headlining tour in the U.S. since 2014 last fall. The pair returns to San Francisco on its current summer jaunt, headlining this show produced by Psyched! Radio SF and Rock Neto at the Kilowatt in the Mission District Wednesday night. LA indie songwriter Poppy Jean Crawford and dark SF pop band Gloomy June open the show along with DJ sets from Louie ElSer and Pinch-i-Leslie.
Blood Red Shoes
Wednesday, July 5, 8 p.m. $17-$20
The Kilowatt
