Blood Red Shoes @ Cabaret Voltaire

One thing you can't accuse Blood Red Shoes of is a lack of moral fibre. With Laura-Mary Carter - the female half of the boy/girl duo - reduced to a croaking vision of misery due to a throat infection, the hotly-tipped Brighton pair could justifiably have KO'd their outing at Cabaret Voltaire. Troopers that they are, they soldier on and award a packed and enthusiastic venue with an energetic set of spiky workouts that, while hardly likely to set the world alight, at least give notice of some decent potential. Obvious comparisons with fellow bass-free, duel-gender travellers the White Stripes and the Kills have already been bandied around but, in truth, Blood Red Shoes plough a much less thrilling furrow than either of those acts. Nevertheless, the powerhouse drumming and vocals of Steven Ansell imbue their grunge-y material with plenty of verve and ensure that, despite Carter's bug, the Shoes remain defiantly buckled. [Duncan Forgan]