Q&A: Good Shoes

Photograph: Jenny Hardcore http://www.jennyhardcore.co.uk/

Four boys from South London, creating a riotous racket and visually enticing record sleeves. It could only be Good Shoes! After a fun-filled 2006 and on the eve of the release of their debut album 'Think Before You Speak', we catch up with RHYS for a brief chat.

Hey, how are you doing?
Good, we're in Sweden recording some B-sides, then I'm off to Germany on Thursday to do press. Busy times, so I'm a bit knackered but all's good.

What can we expect from the new album?
Umm...14 short, clever/dumb, pop songs that we wrote ourselves, with lyrics about my life in particular, but about our lives in general.

You guys have dabbled in doing remixes, are there anymore planned?
Umm...we've done one remix, and it sounded amazing, but not really. We're too busy, so when we have days off, we like to see our friends, instead of doing remixes in front of computers!

How much has Morden influenced you?
Morden has influenced us a great deal I think. But then again, I feel like where ever I grew up, I would have felt the same things towards that place and have had similar relationships to the ones I had in Morden.

What’s been getting your good shoes tapping in music lately?
Jamie T, Klaxons, Rumble Strips, Blood Red Shoes, White Flight, Operator Please.

What’s your favourite song to play live at the moment?
The Photos On My Wall maybe, it's simple and fun to dance about to; I dont have to look at my guitar when I play it so I'm a bit more free with that one, whereas with the other songs, I have to concentrate all the time.

Apart from playing in front of the French, what other aspects of your tour dates later in the year in France are you most looking forward too?
Umm...just seeing new cities. I doubt many people would ever get to see so many other cities in France, mostly people would just go to Paris. Its nice to experience different parts. The same goes for Germany where we're doing a big tour just after.

How did it feel to play the Carling Weekend Reading and Leeds festivals?
Great! It was our biggest ever show and people really got into it, it was really fun!
Having said that, are there any stand out favourite places for you to play?
Birmingham, Leeds, London especially (for obvious reasons), the major cities I guess, because we get to play bigger venues.

How do you feel about being part of the “Thamesbeat” scene?
Nothing. There is no scene, plus, we live very far away from the Thames. We don't have the money to live in Richmond or Twickenham! And we don't sound like any of those bands.

So once the album is released, what’s in store for the future of Good Shoes?
Touring and touring, promoting, releasing more singles, travelling about, exactly what you'd expect!

Do you think the visual side is important to the full Good Shoes picture, to complete the package if you like?
Yeah, I'd say it's about 40% of what we do; the music is obviously more important, but without artwork or videos it would be a lot more boring. I think the way you present yourself visually is very important and can make a great band. I'd like to think our artwork is good, I do it all myself, see!

What is the inspiration behind the artwork? Was it always something you knew you would do yourself, instead of getting someone else to do it?
Yeah, I studied Illustration at uni so it's what I wanted to do before being in the band. There is so much bad artwork out there that I knew what I'd done was, at the very least, better than some of it - check out the album artwork; especially the limited edition CD, it looks pretty cool.

Jonathan Murray

EP: Later - Switchbored EP (Filthy Little Angels)

Later’s 'Switchbored EP' shows indie pop at its best – opener ‘Year By Year’ is reminiscent of Conor Oberst and his Saddle Creek friends’ earliest dabble into music, 'Park Ave,' with its lyrical honesty, bubblegum melodies and simple arrangement. Same goes for the brilliant interacting guitar and keyboard lines on ‘Longing’ and melancholy tone of ‘Telephone Call’ and its contrast with its sprightly beat. Although clearly not an epic that is likely to inspire generations of future musicians Later play to their strengths – honesty, simplicity and catchiness and as a result the 'Switchbored EP' is brilliant in its understatedness.

Standout Track: Year By Year

Ollie Khakwani

EP: The Transmissions - Safe EP (Filthy Little Angels)

(Filthy Little Angels Records)
Curtain up. The reviewer sits at a desk, fingers hovering over keyboard. Conscience enters stage left.

CONSCIENCE: Been a while. So, what’s the verdict?

REVIEWER: Still not sure, you know I’m really dense with experimental rock. I think there’s something here but I have no idea how to say it.

CONSCIENCE: Umm…just start with what it’s like and what’s good about it.

REVIEWER: Well I guess it kind of has that gravity-defying Blonde Redhead vibe with the floaty distorted guitar and vocals on all the tracks except ‘Faces.'

CONSCIENCE: So more of a relaxing sombre-type listen?

REVIEWER: Definitely on the title track and the closer ‘Thoughts Remain’ but they all have some pretty punk/alternative rock-ish guitar licks. And it’s probably more engaging than Blonde Redhead with all the solos and dynamic changes. Kind of like Mogwai’s Rock Action, you know, showing what you can do with a guitar and an effect pedal, but with words.

CONSCIENCE: Ok…so it’s punk dream pop. What about the lyrics? Singer any good?

REVIEWER: Yeah, his vocals have a really cool detached feel that goes with the winding guitar epic structure.

CONSCIENCE: So it’s good then?

REVIEWER: Yeah, I think you’re right. I mean they don’t really have the dancefloor hedonism to break into the mainstream but it’s interesting and not too challenging at the same time. And I love the guitars on it, it’s almost like an existentialist play of an EP.

CONSCIENCE: So it’s settled then, you’ll give it a good review.

REVIEWER: Yeah, ok

Ollie Khakwani

EP: Awesome Wells - Bitch Poets EP (Filthy Little Angels)

An EP with four songs that combined last 9 minutes might strike some people as a bit of a rip-off but Awesome Wells have squeezed every last second full of punk-pop hooks and bratty attitude. Ok, I realise that sounds like some kind of Avril Lavigne-based theme park hell but their lead singer is more Karen O than pop princess. Starting with an ode to Dannii Minogue (no, I don’t know why) lines like ‘you’re the best sister ever’ show an irreproachably twee side but at the same time Awesome Wells showcase their quirky sense of humour in the chorus of ‘Dannii Minogue I love you, I want to snog you.’ The 12 year old ADHD-headcase feel spills over into the other 7 minutes with the rush of power chord progressions, swearing and bratty vivacity. It’s not all substanceless kid ranting though, like the savage attack on the fashion industry for making girls look and dress like boys on ‘You’ve Got No Business In The Fashion World’ and the cries of ‘get off the crack’ on closer ‘Tramp Family.’ Take it too seriously and you’ll find it a hideous display of immaturity but really it’s a fireball of fun.

Standout Track: D.A.N.N.I.I.

Ollie Khakwani

LIVE: Zombie-Zombie, White Heat at Madame JoJo, London. 20th May, 2008

Photo by Nicole Blommers

Multitasking is an ability which every human being should be good at. I am a big fan of multitasking, whether it is at work or in my personal life. Being a brilliant musician means you are good at being a multitasker. Zombie-Zombie, a duo based in Paris, are fortunate enough to be called brilliant musicians. Earlier this year saw the release of their album 'A Land Of Renegades,' an album which is the perfect soundtrack for a science fiction or a detective movie. It brings bleeps, spacey sounds, screaming voices, drumbeats and other experimental noises together in a wonderful exciting boom!

If you want to be in a band such as Zombie-Zombie you need to be, at least, a part-time geek, but preferably full-time. Etienne Jaumet and CosmicNeman (who you might know from Herman Düne) are 100% geeks on stage. They love to twiddle the knobs and play with their keyboards and drums. Not to forget, they know how to use their geeky toy called Theremin, which is one of the best instruments ever made. It’s a little box with an antenna attached to it and when you move your hands around the antenna it produces an electrical signal sound. Zombie-Zombie definitely are le grand heroes in multitasking. It doesn’t matter where every instrument is; they know how to find it. One eye focuses on a knob at the left and the other eye is concentrating on a toy keyboard. You probably won’t believe it, but they have a third eye as well.

At the start of their White Heat gig the crowd, especially those at the front, just stare at the band. The more we get taken along in their musical adventure, the more mental and spacey some people get, or should I say that they act like zombies? If you really get into their sound and live gigs, you will know exactly what means to be prescribed adrenaline shots. It feels great! I wish they had given us a bit more of those shots, but I guess that their stretched out cover of Iggy Pop’s ‘Nightclubbing’ was indeed a perfect way to end it all. To summarise it: Zombie-Zombie is a band that does not only sound fantastic on record, but as a live band they are perhaps even more fantastic.

Nicole Blommers

EP: LD & The New Criticism - Amoral Certitudes (Acuarela)

One listen into this ‘autodidactic toe-tapper’ (their words, not mine) EP, and it’s clear. This is how music should sound. With a mesmeric mixture of eclecticism, glorious pop harmonies and the all important ukulele, the glowing carnival spirit of Amoral Certitudes confirms that the magnificent LD & The New Criticism are unable to offer anything less than excellence. Opening this light-hearted EP, the utterly charming ditty penned ‘Love Theme from LD&TNC’ creates an adorably majestic stunner of a track, and with follow up AKA Paradise, a sound so melodically beautiful, yet surprisingly strikingly powerful is released, bursting into a joyous fit of pure glee.

As the EP draws on, each utterly oddball, yet splendidly structured song sparkles in its own special way. With short snaps such as ‘Light Verse’, it’s clear that this band certainly have a knack for merely drawling inspiringly beautiful songs, each glorious musical wonder being as special as the next.

As tranquilly serene as the music suggests, the lyrical genius injected into each excellently crafted pearl is as perfect as the aforesaid talent portrayed by this collective. Lyrics such as “Who knew people like you/Weren’t just a euphemism/Who’d’ve thought this could be taught/Like a catechism” show that as well as being a magically melodic spark, the lyrics provide the dazed and entranced listener a much sought after ‘pop for the clever people’ angle.

After ’16 minutes and 30-odd seconds’ (again, their words) of ecstasy, and the pure and utter elation has suddenly passed without consent, the unspoken words of LD & TNC remain, urging you subconsciously to go off and buy their EP. And who are you to let them down?

Olivia Jaremi

ALBUM: Sputnik Monroe - We're Doomed

Defined, I assume, by themselves, Sputnik Monroe are allegedly a “electronic electric rock band”. I feel somewhat awkward typing such words, as there is little evidence suggesting anything close to such title in their music. However, here I am, sitting at the laptop, dreary eyed, eagerly listening intently to each track repeatedly, despite being the only one in the silent household awake.

I’ve been proved wrong. Once again. ‘Standing in Rank’ is a mixed up, scatterbrained monster of a track, sounding like The Cooper Temple Clause fed through a disjointed synthesiser. Yelpy vocals and apocalyptic space riffs combine to make a rousing attack of intense musical mastermind, with layers upon layers of tantalizingly precise epic-prog rock.

‘Ocean’ lives up to expectations, sounding like an alt-rock frenzy preparing for angular war. Filled with instruments battling each other in ultimately clashing harmony, and alarming fret-work, Sputnik Monroe have mastered the art of creating a wholly anthemic, yet spiky sound.
As chords and drums clash and bang, contagious energetic twists and turns dotted in each song come alive, in a way that almost predicts a long and successful future for this criminally under-hyped group. Inventive, yet deadly rhythms set the music alight, creating a raucous yet beautifully mysterious edge to the band’s distinctive edge.

Enigmatically entrancing, Sputnik Monroe have defined themselves and their unforgettable sound in a way that many current bands could only dream of. Exciting to the point of the unbelievable, this band are mind-blowingly awesome. Whatever you do, don’t ever forget them. As if that was possible.

Olivia Jaremi