Blood Red Shoes return to Norwich having recently released their third album, In Time to Voices. Plus: Portuguese fado superstars Deolinda, disco-punk forrunners The Rapture.
DEOLINDA
Norwich Arts Centre, April 30
Superstars in their native country, Deolinda have breathed new life into Portugal's signature fado style with their endearing take on the genre and flamboyant stage show.
Their latest release Dois Selos e um Carimbo epitomises the tight-knit quartet featuring ukelelem cavaquinho, braguesa, classical guitar and double bass.
The songs carry the stories of Deolinda, a fictional feminine character, expertly characterised by the dynamic and charismatic singer Ana Bacalhau (which means Salted Cod).
The Deolinda Project began in 2006, inspired by the great Mariza, an artist that placed Portugal and fado on the international map.
Fado inevitably runs through their music, even though Deolinda do not claim to be a fado band per se. The musicians expertly interweave diverse influences into their music, as well as visually inject a burst of colour onto the stage.
Their debut album Can�ao ao Lado in 2009 achieved Platinum status in Portugal and their unique blend of delicate fado and Cape Verdean blues saw them scoop Newcomer of the Year at the 2010 Songlines Music Awards.
t Further listening: www.deolinda.com.pt
BLOOD RED SHOES
Waterfront, May 2
Consisting of Steven Ansell and Laura-Mary Carter, Blood Red Shoes formed in late 2004 after their previous bands — Cat On Form and Lady Muck respectively — had broken up and they decided to 'have a jam'.
The Brighton duo took the band's name from a Ginger Rogers/Fred Astaire musical, in which Ginger Rogers had turned a pair of white dancing shoes red with blood due to the amount of dancing she had done practising for the role.
They return to Norwich having recently released their third album, In Time to Voices, which they've described as their most ambitious yet. It marks a maturing of their sound, but without sacrificing their punk-inspired sound features catchy hooks and clever guitar patterns.
Unsurprisingly they cite a large swathe of US-based underground punk and rock music as their primary influence, from Babes in Toyland, Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age, Pixies, Fugazi and Sonic Youth, although they also regularly highlight Blur and PJ Harvey as music heroes.
Lyrically their songs with themes of alienation, boredom, escape and ultimately the hope of freedom or change. They support anti-fascist campaigns such as Love Music Hate Racism and have also played the feminist festival Ladyfest in the past.
In 2010, their track It's Getting Boring By The Sea featured in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, chosen by director Edgar Wright after he saw them live.
t Further listening: www.bloodredshoes.co.uk
THE RAPTURE
Norwich Arts Centre, May 3
Forerunners of the disco-punk revival of the early 2000s, The Rapture mixed their early post-punk sound with electronic and dance elements.
With the help of the DFA production team the New York-based then-quartet recorded their now seminal full-length debut album Echoes, which included the hugely catchy House of Jealous Lovers.
They arguably didn't really get the breakthrough this deserved and they watched as LCR Soundsystem made it big doing something similar, while The Strokes emerged to push the New York scene in a different direction.
They weren't helped by a lacklustre follow-up album Pieces of the People We Love, which despite being produced by Paul Epworth and Danger Mouse and featuring Cee Lo Green on backing vocals, got lost in record label problems while they also lost a band member in bassist/vocalist Matty Safer.
Phoenix producer/Cassius member Philippe Zdar produced their third release In the Grace of your Love which came out last November and is an improvement though it seems to have failed to make many waves.
They arrive in Norwich as headliners of the latest Twee Off! night and will be supported by bleepy, disco-pop noir outfit Chew Lips.
t Further listening: www.therapturemusic.com
SOUNDS IN THE CITY
April 27
Little Comets + more (indie/rock) — Arts Centre
Franko Fraize + more (hip hop/pop) — Open
Tilting Sky: feat. The Broken Seas + more (indie) — Waterfront
Buster James + Pandemonium (blues/rock) — Brickmakers
Keep It Secret + Dying Breeds + more (indie) — B2
Cornerstone (rock/indie) — King Edward VII
Radio Caroline Revival (60s) — The Champion
Spearhead Records Presents (drum n bass) — Carnival
Red Hot Rockers (rockabilly) — Walnut Tree Shades
No Secrets (pop) — Silver Road Cottage
The Harvs (roots) — Brewery Tap
Phil Beer (folk) — Puppet Theatre
Norwich Folk Club — Christ Church Centre
Rob Charles — The Farmhouse
Ricci — Preseverance
April 28
Lost ? + more ( — Waterfront
Lee Vann + Cutback + Alex Hill (indie/pop) — Open
Brickmakers 9th Birthday Bash: feat. Surprise band — Brickmakers
Unchained Syns (rock) — King Edward VII
Solko + more (indie) — Carnival
The Mixtape: feat. Ayyub King — Rumsey Wells
The Frozen Raspberries (rock/pop) — Boundary
Carol (soul) — The Farmhouse
Breaking Belief (rock) — Heartease
3 Up 2 Down (blues/funk) — Angel Gardens
Honeydripper (rock/blues) — Eaton Cottage
The Misfit Collective (skiffle/bluegrass) — The Leopard
Thirteen — The Stanley
April 29
Rocket From The East Final (music competition final) — Waterfront
Dzordana Butkute (world/pop) — Waterfront Studio
Harry Bird & The Rubber Wellies (roots/folk) — Bicycle Shop
V8 Rumble (rockabilly) — King Edward VII
The Planks (soul/3pm) — Brewery Tap
Chippy (4pm) — Boundary
Lee Vasey Big Band (12pm) — Brickmakers
April 30
Paradise Lost (metal) — Waterfront
Deolinda (world) — Arts Centre
Brickie Session (open mic) — Brickmakers
Jazz Jam: feat. Rich Buddie — Walnut Tree Shades
Jazz Jam — B2
May 1
Fairport Acoustic Convention (folk) — Arts Centre
The Quireboys (rock) — Waterfront Studio
Jazz: feat. Simon Brown Trio (jazz) — Rackheath Green Man
Matthew P (acoustic) — Epic
Forever Young (rock) — Brickmakers
May 2
Blood Red Shoes (indie/rock) — Waterfront
Pure Acoustic (open mic) — Brickmakers
Lee Vasey & Friends — Trowel & Hammer
Traditional Irish — The Gatehouse
May 3
The Rapture (indie) — Arts Centre
Camille O'Sullivan (cabaret/jazz) — Playhouse
Bloodstock 2: The Masses Band Competition — Waterfront Studio
Electricity (blues) — Walnut Tree Shades
Ghostriders Western Club (country) — TA Centre
Jam Night — King Edward VII
Open Mic — Garden House
Open Mic — Wildman
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