Tag Archives: Good Shoes

Good Shoes single review

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by Emma

Just how cute can Good Shoes get? The Photos on my Wall due out on Christmas day is yet another impossibly delightful track from the wonderful UK newcomers.

Their sound is twangy and cool, high-spirited and most of all so enjoyable. The Photos on my Wall is another lovely, lovely track that puts the smile firmly on my face and makes me want to dance around the place along to the childlike tones of the vocals. Additional tracks Beautiful and Deathfame are also sporadic, full of broken verse and upbeat guitar and unfaltering percussion. The lyrics are creative and honest as always and I can’t imagine how any open-minded music lover wouldn’t fall in love with Good Shoes’ music.


Good Shoes – All In My Head – Single

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by Emma

Good Shoes are truly delightful. The single All In My Head is a wonderful and wildly extravagent tune which rides out like a fairground rollercoaster complete with bends, twists and sharp halts and most promonent of all the punk vocals of Rhys Jones which I am sure will become notorious in time. I’m not certain whether we have a child vocalist or a very clever young man, and this is a very intentional sound as by the time you reach track three Wrong & Right its clear that he is the latter. The music and the form and timing of the tracks is quite intricate but the overlay of words sang in such a childlike and casual manner throws a whole new spin on it. Don’t be misled though – the writing is tight and very well organised with lyrics sharp and funny.

I really like this band a lot, their style is fresh and young and spirited and I look forward to seeing how this comes across in their live performance.

EPs and Mini-Albums

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EP’s and mini-albums…

by Emma

Good Shoes – We Are Not The Same EP

Pop-punk quartet Good Shoes released their feisty We Are Not The Same EP on March 20th through Brille Records. Their sound is an inoffensive and rather gentle sound though, reminiscent of The Jam but with a brand new edge ready to blow up in 2006.

Title track We Are Not The Same is a cute little upbeat song fundamentally based on the opposites attract aspect of love. Backed by ringing, excitable guitar and a clean drum beat just at the right level of loud to allow the vocals to shine through, this is certainly a track to make you smile. This is followed up by Southwest Trains, an amusing, observational track providing a short glimpse of the variation characters to be found on their regular train route. May Lannoye is a cool quick track taking you back to the days of the school dance or the local disco! Closing song Things To Make And Do betrays the annoyance over conformity, the over-privileged and the dull acceptance of spoon-fed ethics.

Good Shoes have a really pleasant and refreshing outlook and sound that has definitely put them in favour with me. I love the sound, I love the lyrics and what I love most is the fact that this band doesn’t need to write epic songs to get their message across, and manage to do this perfectly well within a 2-3 minute timeframe as songs often used to. A worthy purchase if I ever saw one!

www.goodshoes.co.uk

The Zico Chain – The Zico Chain Mini LP

Available to buy through Hassle Records from April 10th The Zico Chain Mini LP will certainly wake you up!

First up is Rohypnol, a loud and brash track, of which the title is self explanatory. Vocals go from raw to rawer, in a style rarely seen from recent UK bands. Memorable and pointful, this is a great song. Track two This Thing is jumpy, sharp and the lyrics are tormented and worryingly real. The non-uniform guitar and beat make this all the more appealing to me – this is one of the qualities that I always search for in music that can set bands far apart from the rest. Following up is Roll Over, a slightly less edgy track with a firm rockin’ bass line and a catchy chorus.

Social Suicide is of a more serious tone and lowers the heaviness during the verse only to rip it up at the chorus with screaming guitar and vocals. Brain is a track is a wonderfully off beat track about intellectual superiority, with a softer chorus than verse this time and a screw-you attitude. The Lonely Ones is the final track to unite a nation of those who don’t quite fit in. The track is introduced and led through by sweat-inducing drums and features thick guitar and gravely vocals.

The Zico Chain are already making their name in the industry following relentless touring and sheer hard work. Listen to this mini-LP and you will understand why they are already in demand. The beauty of their sound is that they have they have made it their own without jumping on the bandwagon of any other current styles that seem to be flooding the scene lately. I am impressed. You will be too.