IN REVIEW: Blood Red Shoes - "Ghosts On Tape"

My first exposure to English duo Blood Red Shoes was It's Getting Boring By the Sea, an exciting early dance/rock single from their 2008 debut LP. A lot has changed in the sound of Blood Red Shoes over the course of their tenure, and they seem to have gradually gotten glossier and darker album by album. It's only sensible, then, that Ghosts On Tape would be both their glossiest and darkest album to date.

Much of the album is soaked in retro gothic hues, like the opening section of Comply (which gets pretty close in overall feel to Nine Inch Nails) and advance singles Morbid Fascination and Murder Me. More rock-minded fans will find a good amount to sink their teeth into as well, as there's a fair amount of snarl and snark in the speedy Give Up, the post-grunge slow burn Begging and the noisy, overdriven I Am Not You.

Though it loses a little steam toward the end, Ghosts On Tape succeeds more than it falls short and, as far as soundtracks to the apocalypse go, you can do worse than this colourful, versatile mix of '80s nostalgia and '20s dread.

January 14, 2022 • Velveteen

Highlights Murder Me • Give Up • I Am Not You

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