by Danielle Bulhoes

We’ve all had those moments that come after heated arguments, or when someone throws a nasty comment or mean criticism your way and you think of the perfect thing to say way too late hours later. We all know how it feels to have that encounter just stew inside you until a flash of inspiration hits and it releases all that negativity in that perfect sentence you wish you had when you needed it. This is what you get with Blood Red Shoes’ newest album, Get Tragic.

Between this and their last album, the alternative rock duo of Blood Red Shoes, Laura-Mary Carter and Steven Ansell, have been through a lot together. Get Tragic is an album filled with social anxieties and tension, Carter and Ansell clearly working through their frustrations with each other, as well as their frustrations about their lives and the music business. Carter especially, having injured herself during a biking accident, was unable to resume her role as the group’s guitarist and had to limit herself to vocals when recording the album, which is probably why the tracks feature so many synth sounds. The couple eventually reconciled enough to come back together and work through their issues, creating a pretty standout collection of songs.

The first track, “Eye to Eye”, sets the mood for the rest of the album. Filled with tension, it clearly addresses the problems that Carter and Ansell had to work through in order to come back and make Get Tragic. The chorus replays the same phrase, “We don’t see eye to eye”, giving the listener a good idea as to the fragile layer of apprehension, ready to break all over again if someone makes a single wrong move. It’s pretty cathartic actually, especially for those of us who have difficulty putting our frustrations into words. Using “Eye to Eye” as an outlet, the listener can let go and imagine themselves confronting the people that might have pissed them off all from the safety of their own homes. I’ve always found the electric guitar to be the best instrument that was aggressive enough to fully summarize any adverse feelings I had and was unable to put into words. The use of the electric guitar in this song is just right that it makes me feel like my body is just slowly releasing all the tension in it without me having to throttle someone.  However, using this song as an outlet, the listener gets no real resolution to their problem, much like the song, which ends abruptly saying “We don’t see eye to eye.” It really showcases how things that we leave unsaid really impedes our ability to get closure.

Another track that’s a good example of the subject being unable to get closure is the song “Beverly”. The singer meets a man at a wedding and the man shares a story about his love for the bride. He tells the listener that “I know that I love her/ In these ways that you could never understand” and how torn up he is seeing her with another man. This man goes on to say how he slipped into despair with nothing but a lock of hair from her as a keepsake. The song is melancholy, Carter and Ansell’s voices layering during the chorus with synth sounds that make for a really dour and bleak atmosphere.

Not only does this album deal with outer conflicts between the artists and subjects of the songs, but they also take the time to look introspectively at themselves, ask at what level they were responsible for their problems and how they respond to that. In “Find My Own Remorse” Ansell takes over the lead vocals, with Carter offering up some backup. The lyrics for this song speak of a deep depression, Ansell’s tone almost apathetic as he sings about how he can’t be made to give the people badgering him the time of day, he’s just done with it all. But he’s mindful about what he’s thinking and feeling, aware of where these kinds of thoughts can lead and the danger in that. He sings that “I can’t give these thoughts the time of day…I am my own worst enemy”. Acknowledging this, Ansell promises to look for another way to deal with these feelings.

“Mexican Dress” follows a trend that’s been popping up a lot with artists. Carter herself has stated that “the track Mexican Dress is about the lengths people will go to for attention. Whether it’s online or in real life – small hits of validation and the feeling of having all eyes on you have become our generation’s biggest drug problem.” Carter’s voice dominates this track as she chastises the people who will do anything for their fifteen minutes in the spotlight. The music is a bit more fast-paced than most of the other songs, a reflection of how some people try to gain fame as quickly as possible without thinking of consequences and disregarding mental health if things should get out of control too quickly.

Blood Red Shoes explores their anxiety, their frustrations and the tension between them after a bad falling out in their newest album Get Tragic, a study in how people approach the relationships in their lives, whether they be someone the artist looks down at while on stage, someone they interact with on a social media setting, a good friend, a stranger they met at a wedding, or when they’re just looking inward at themselves. Get Tragic is an album that explores everything we wish we do and don’t say to the people around us and the effect that has on us emotionally, mentally and physically. The electric guitar is the perfect tool to de-stress the listener and translate the dissatisfaction Carter and Ansell have with themselves, each other and the world in general. Get Tragic is a great album if you’re looking for a little anger management in your life, ready to help you and lend you an understanding shoulder to lean on because you’re not alone in your anger and anxiety.