CD review: Red Blooded Women
Title: You Made Your Bed EP
Okay, first of all, there’s something I have to get off my chest. The press release with this EP makes a reference to Red Blooded Women being more likely to listen to Kratwerk than Atomic Kitten. A quick scan of their myspace page and you catch pieces of their ‘manifesto’; “…we don’t see why we can’t do something a little different (to other pop music). Music that is a little bit awkward and edgy.” says band member Liz.
It all sounds as if they’re just another pop group, but in their heads, they justify more credibility than their peers. I don’t care if they prefer Slipknot and Strauss to The Saturdays, Red Blooded Women are as pop as pop comes, but I’m tipping my hat to them because despite being the umpteenth ‘pop’ group to make the assertion that they are doing something different from the current crop, they may be the first to actually have the songs to back that claim up.
Along with the aforementioned Liz, Red Blooded Women feature two other vocalists, Candy and Carly. The vocals are a mix of Girls Aloud and the chorus of the lead track is like Sugababes but with some effort actually put into the singing.
They’re very open about their influences (Girls Aloud, Depeche Mode) but very specific too (Old skool All Saints, One Touch-era Sugababes). The Dreamtrak Diamonds edit of ‘You Made Your Bed’ sounds like ‘Some Great Reward’ era Depeche Mode with a Pet Shop Boys makeover, and it’s this factor which makes them stand out from other groups at the moment. Yes I realise it all probably sounds a bit Xenomania, but there is an ’80s tint to the sound which gives the songs more depth without swamping the music in over-production.
The other original song, ‘4 2Nite’, keeps up the standards of the opening track and goes further to show how well the girls work together. The melodies and harmonies are catchy without being annoying by the tenth listen and both songs show promise.
The EP features three mixes/edits of ‘You Made Your Bed’ and one remix of ‘4 2Nite’. Far from being drawn out dirge versions of the original songs they help show the potential for the songs and therefore the group themselves.
With a liking for pop groups becoming a guilty pleasure these days, Red Blooded Women may have bridged the gap and given the same exposure as other groups (like The Saturdays supporting Girls Aloud on tour last year; no coincidence they share the same management) they may in time surpass them, if not in chart success then certainly in musical credibility and a potential for sincere longevity.
This EP is available for download from iTunes.
For more songs and information on Red Blooded Women, check out their myspace page;
www.myspace.com/redbloodedwomenmusic
If you want to see a Red Blooded Women live show, you can catch them at the following venues;
6 Mar ’09 19:00 Electroqueer @ Underbelly, Hoxton, London and South East
12 Mar ’09 19:00 Oxjam2009 @ 93 Feet East (Headline) London and South East
17 Apr ’09 20:00 EY4 @ Queen of Hoxton, London and South East
By James Lewis