There are bands that can play for decades without getting any attention. And then there are the few who can’t help but be showered with acclaim despite the fact they’re yet to do anything more than record a few demos and put them on MySpace. If you’ve been reading Transparent, Neu, High Voltage and every other on-the-pulse blog at the minute, the chances are that you’ll have come across the fizzy neon pop of Slow Motion Shoes before. Despite the many inches, the wheelbarrows of adjectives and hype they’ve hoarded, they’re yet to even play a show.
Songs this lucid are impossible to suppress, however, their sepia tinged charm apparent from the first funk-filled chimes of standout track Brendan Fraser, and despite their roots in the rainy city, it’s unsuprising that news of the band has travelled much further than it’s provincial limits. Thankfully, there’s little sign of the grime that engulfs much of the musical talent from these parts, drawing influences and comparisons as broad as they are brilliant – shades of Moscow Olympics here, bits of Phoenix there, and all delivered with a homespun, lo-fi charm. The songs give off the impression of lazily being strung together in a lost afternoon, a drum beat that loosely hugs the bubbling melody being the only aspect that stops short of the meandering pace of their tracks.
As far as words go, it should go stratospheric when they start playing a few gigs together – luckily, High Voltage are, as ever, one step ahead of the game. Those who’re yet to see Islet have one less reason not to see their phenomenal live show as Slow Motion Shoes offer support for their forthcoming Islington Mill gig on September 28th. After that, there will be performances for In the City and after that – well, probably the world. Those immune to the glow that their music emits are nothing short of a lost cause.
Slow Motion Shoes – Faded Colours [download from high voltage]
http://soundcloud.com/highvoltagemusic/slow-motion-shoes-faded-colors
Slow Motion Shoes – Brendan Fraser [download from neu]
[myspace]
This is prob’lee something you ought to know about if you haven’t already spotted it:
http://twitter.com/#!/slowmotionshoes/status/37154820485812224