Good Shoes - No Hope, No Future
Too often they fail to move beyond the dangerous slipstream of mediocrity.
The Morden quartet are back with the follow up to their well received debut 'Think Before You Speak' which spawned no less than five singles, a string of arty videos and a plethora of fashion shoots that could have been lifted straight from the Topman promotional archive. Their blend of catchy hooks, social commentary and tales of fractured relationships may have failed to set the charts on fire but they are looking to set this straight with the notoriously difficult follow up.
Whilst their debut album was replete with up tempo numbers, these are conspicuous by their absence this time around which is a real shame as this is where they excel. Opener 'The Way My Heart Beats' was released as a free download back in August and possesses all of the jaunty upbeat fizz that made their debut so appealing, a melee of uncomplicated lyrics and spiky guitar solos.
The other exception is first single proper 'Under Control', a slinky indie dance floor friendly creation propelled by chunky drumming that burns with lustful desire like The Maccabees on heat. The up tempo numbers aren’t entirely faultless though as 'I Know' is a decent enough attempt at throwing political hypocrisy, apathy and religion into the lyrical melting pot but like much of the record is derailed by over repetition.
The vocal limitations of lead singer Rhys Jones are exposed on the slower numbers that comprise the bulk of the remaining tracks. 'Everything You Do' is possibly the worst culprit, a down tempo effort which goes round and round in circles like it’s been left on a roundabout too long then violently spun. There are traces of The Cure and Kaiser Chiefs to be found lying beneath the surface but the sheer droning makes you want to put something or someone out of it’s misery.
‘City By The Sea’ is the Shoes parting shot and a worthy one at that. It’s minor chord progressions and half cut vocal style reminiscent of every tabloid’s favourite junkie Pete Doherty whose ghost yet again casts a shadow on proceedings. It’s lovelorn vibe of seaside romance cuts at your heartstrings in way that little else here does and leaves you with a sweet taste in the mouth as the mere half hour running time comes to an end.
The prognosis may not be quite so bleak as being hopeless or without a future as Good Shoes clearly have a way with a winning melody, but too often they fail to move beyond the dangerous slipstream of mediocrity. It seems like they’ve become content to draw from a wealth of well mined musical sources instead of pursuing their own creative vision and the result is an album which has moments of brilliance but fails to stand out from the crowd.
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