Three years ago I was in sixth form, DJing in order to get into clubs I was otherwise too young to enter and generally getting ridiculed for my taste in clothes that were better suited to grannies. Then Good Shoes released debut album Think Before You Speak in 2007, and I was effectively given the soundtrack to the latter years of my adolescent life.
And then the band disappeared. I went travelling. I came back. Still nothing. The four piece from Morden whose furiously played guitars with lyrics that made me both smile and sigh had left me, deserted me; forced me to grow up and like bands it was unacceptable to happy clap too.
But ladies and gentlemen, they return, and nothing has really changed. A band touring after so long away face a struggle, balancing the need to provide the audience with songs they can sing to, with the desire to play the music they have been working on for so bloody long. Good Shoes cope with ease- classics ‘All in My Head’ and ‘Morden’ are sung back to Rhys Jones with such passion you can quite literally see forgotten memories on the sweaty little faces of their joyous fans. The pounding guitars and quickly sung lyrics are as catchy as ever, and likeable charm is the name of the game for the boys who previous nervous demenour has been replaced by a self assured presence that has developed over time.
‘Way My Heart Beats’ is the first new track played, and is Good Shoes with a broken heart- and yet you still dance, intoxicated by the Buzzcocks influenced sound sung in the South London accent. It is however the first single ‘Under Control’ from forthcoming album No Hope, No Future that shows real progression in the band. Slower and more intense, the song is sexy, a more grown up Good Shoes and all the better for it.
It feels like a long time and I might not be the 17 year-old I was when I first fell for Good Shoes, but thankfully their new music shows a maturity that means I can still love them . The album comes out in January and I for one can’t wait to hear what else they have to offer.
Posted In Live Reviews, Dec 22 2009.
Words - Dom Kehat