In 2007, The Horrors welcomed us to their Strange House, a den of garage rock halfway between The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the Little Shop Of Horrors.
Back with a vengeance, these English rascals have now moved to a dark mansion in a nebulous land. The title Primary Colours is in jest as there remains no glam or glitter, the lads have cleaned up their act and have fallen for post punk sounds, bleak sulfur skies and gloom.
Do not be alarmed, the band still possesses that classy excentricity that makes them remarkable and their former madness has turned into a haunting aura.
Their stark and tormented melodies indeed exude an eerie and hazy atmosphere that brings out the uncanny side of Victorian England as indicates "Mirror's Image", the opener that captures Big Ben at night in its introduction.
One thus stands between dream ("Scarlet Fields") and chaos ("I Can't Control Myself") as the melodies are also reminiscent of Joy Division, especially of its one of a kind rhythmics.
The ghost of Ian Curtis seems to hang over their new house of "brooding", particularly in the icy tune "Who Can Say?" and killer "New Ice Age".
Their stark and tormented melodies indeed exude an eerie and hazy atmosphere that brings out the uncanny side of Victorian England as indicates "Mirror's Image", the opener that captures Big Ben at night in its introduction.
One thus stands between dream ("Scarlet Fields") and chaos ("I Can't Control Myself") as the melodies are also reminiscent of Joy Division, especially of its one of a kind rhythmics.
The ghost of Ian Curtis seems to hang over their new house of "brooding", particularly in the icy tune "Who Can Say?" and killer "New Ice Age".
The vocals bear a striking resemblance to the metallic voice of Mark Burgess, lead singer of The Chameleons, emphazing the dark feel, leaving some room for poetic spleen, depicting a kind of goth version of Wuthering Heights, a devouring passion ("I Only Think Of You") with frosty guitars and a halting rhythm section.
All the anguish, lust and venom contained in the most radical hymns recall the manipulative relationships in Peter Greenaway's Draughtsman Contract.
The Horrors run deep ("A Sea Within The Sea") driving us into their corner and narrating a bitter sweet tale. Who knows what turf those lovely freaks will take us to next time : "Will the dream stay rooted in the shadow? See the great big sky, see my destination tonight..."
Primary Colours was released on XL on May, 5th 2009.
Rank: Enjoy
If the ghost of Ian Curtis is hanging over this house, then it's a house I need to visit. You wrote a very colorful review to describe what apparently is a record that lacks just that. My interest is peaked! Off to download I go. Love the new webzine, thanks!
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