“I have the flu,” warns Laura-Mary Carter, the guitar-wielding half of dynamite garage-rock duo, Blood Red Shoes. “I can’t even hear out my ears properly. My whole head is stuffed up.”
It’s 11pm at Carter’s home in Brighton, UK, and she’s only had a few hours to recover from a flight back from the US. Yet, even through the crackly telephone connection and fighting an unrelenting infection, her velvety voice is tinged with the melodious fragility that is so intrinsic to Blood Red Shoes’ sound.
Partnered in crime by drummer Steven Ansell, it was through the unfortunate dissolution of their former bands in 2004 that encouraged the pair to get together for an informal jam. Eight years and three tremendous albums later, the duo is finally bringing their scorching rock to Australia for the Pyramid Rock and Peats Ridge Festivals.
“No one wanted us to come,” laughs Carter when probed about their extended neglect of the sunny continent. “Obviously, it’s quite expensive for any promoter to get a band over from the UK. We would have loved to go to Australia on our first record, but this is the first time we’ve been asked.”
The pair seems to have perfected their sound on this year’s In Time To Voices. Their debut, 2008’s Box Of Secrets, was an energetic exercise in pulverising, organised garage-rock calamity; but fans claimed it didn’t quite capture the duo’s live sound, which had been stirring up frenzies in UK venues for years.
Their follow-up, 2010’s Fire Like This, demonstrated a wisened songcraft, but still fell short of encapsulating their notoriously aural brutality.
Whilst both of these albums were thoroughly electrifying jungles of blazing, riff-heavy guitars and manic percussive blitzes, it’s on In Time To Voices that they’ve finally accurately transcribed their live sound on record.“When I was 11 or something, I saw Justine Frischmann of Elastica playing and I thought ‘that’s what I want to do’.”
Carter credits this to meticulous planning, which meant the band had “worked out every small detail” before finally heading into the studio. “Usually, we just have really rough demos, but this time, we knew how everything was going to sound.”
The talented vocalist admits that they were less preoccupied with how well the record would translate live, instead focusing on producing the best output possible. “It was really cool to be able to see all things come together and not have to worry so much about the live performance.”
In Times To Voices isn’t overtly different to their previous records, but a well-acquainted listener will pick up on the subtle nuances that separate and elevate it from their two earlier albums.
Now, with the amps turned up to 11, Carter’s formidable guitar work finally takes centre stage, cementing the duo as a mighty force that fits somewhere between garage and punk, but offers a rewardingly diverse mix of other inspirations that puts them in a category of their own. Furthermore, the juxtaposition of Ansell’s roaring wails and Carter’s heavenly chants is beautifully explored on this album, weaving through intricate vocal mazes that thrive at the band’s heart.
The risk of fans responding negatively to the altered sound was something that never particularly crossed their minds. “We went into it not thinking so much or worrying about what people think. If you start thinking about what the outside world thinks, it’s a downward spiral. It’s not a good idea preempt what people are going to think about it. You’ve got to do yourselves right.”
Carter is worried about one thing, however; she’s anxiously anticipating the Australian Summer heat. “We’re coming over on the day after Christmas; I can’t believe how hot it’s going to be,” she says. “I just don’t think I’m going to be prepared for it.”
The duo’s Sydney sideshow on January 4th coincides with Carter’s birthday, for which she is exceptionally excited. “I’ve never been anywhere on my birthday, because it’s always so close to the New Year and we never really do much. It’s going to be really special.”
Carter reveals what first encouraged her to pursue music. “When I was really, really young, I just got drawn to female rock musicians,” she fondly reminisces. “When I was 11 or something, I saw Justine Frischmann of Elastica playing and I thought ‘that’s what I want to do’.” While Carter asserts that she wouldn’t necessarily cite Elastica as a specific influence, “it was just that thing of seeing a woman playing guitar” that she found so compelling.
Then, through a journey that started via a love of Guns N’ Roses and a little careful nudging from an older sister, Carter found her musical niche in the goddesses of grunge, Hole and Babes In Toyland. “Kat Bjelland could play amazing guitar and that’s something that really inspired me. I love lots of different music; I’m a music geek! But that’s my staple music that I always come back to.”“It’s really cool that there are more female musicians, but the majority has taken over the pop world, but in the rock world, there aren’t that many.”
“I think it’s just this thing of seeing feminine women playing really ‘fuck you’ riffs, and screaming really macho, but still feminine,” something for which Carter herself has become renowned. Of course, it would be terribly reductionist and possibly sexist to constantly make reference to Carter’s gender, but she admits it’s something she personally acknowledges, and she’s proud to be out there inspiring girls to take up the guitar.
“Most musicians I know are male, so when I speak to them about this stuff, they always say ‘well no. There’s so much female presence now in music’. Yeah there is,” she ruminates, “but it’s all very mainstream pop.”
“It’s still mostly about the commercialisation of women, with very sexual videos and photos. It’s really cool that there are more female musicians, but the majority has taken over the pop world, but in the rock world, there aren’t that many,” she adds.
“We’re talking about actual rock music,” she specifies, when asked about other alternative genres. “I feel it’s hard to be taken seriously. You really have to prove yourself so much more than a man in the rock world.”
It’s particularly apparent when Carter notes how different her relationship with the music media has been, compared to Ansell. “I can probably count on one hand how many times someone has asked me about my guitar playing, but everyone asks Steven about drums.”
For anyone who has listened to Blood Red Shoes, there’s no doubt that Carter possesses a rare mastery of her chosen weapon and flair for composing captivating and engaging guitar lines. Yet, frustrated, she can’t help but lament, “one day, I would like be taken seriously as a guitar player.”
Blood Red Shoes play Peats Ridge Festival (details here) and the Falls Festival at New Year’s, details here; as well as sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney. Details below
Blood Red Shoes Australian Tour 2013
January 3rd 2013 – The Hi-Fi, Melbourne
Tickets: here
January 4th 2013 – The Hi-Fi, Sydney
Tickets: here
