Blood Red Shoes have had a rough few years. The Brighton two-piece split in 2014, partly as a result of the relentless touring schedule for their self-titled third album. They returned this year with Get Tragic; an album which fuses the more traditional loud, garage rock-inspired elements of the band’s music with a slower, droning electronic base.
The album is reflective of a more carefully measured Blood Red Shoes than we have previously seen – though it perhaps lacks the required energy to elevate the two-piece beyond the generic.
It feels, at times, like it should be a record from ten years ago, and looking back to their inspired earlier efforts Get Tragic feels reminiscent of similar ultra-sleek reboots of noughties indie/alternative groups such as Bloc Party’s 2016 album Hymns. There appears the odd bit of invention, such as the dreamy ‘Finding my Remorse’ and Laura-Mary Carter’s drawing final track ‘Elijah’.
Beyond this, however, the record touches too often on the cliché, the tired and the slow.
Benjy Taylor 3/5
Get Tragic is out now
