The Horrors - Skying

Something about pre-enlightened Shaun (that's me, just in case) had placed The Horrors in amongst a big list of what I'd like to call 'name bands'. The ones who you've heard the name of but all seem to blend together in one large dollop of NME-approved boringness. I was probably initially turned off by their image: they'd appeared in the Mighty Boosh and they looked like the Russell Brand variety of goth-lite weirdos. So now that I've probably insulted them with two senses, let's pay a little more attention to the former. Their third album now, 'Skying' has delivered the band with their first UK top-ten position (an impressive #5, in fact) and some of their strongest reviews.

Indeed things begin with a very much en vogue sonic - 'Changing the Rain' has a blustery brass introduction which eventually filter into a percussion loop and gritty vocals, not unlike this year's Battles album (especially with the chorus' Doves-like optimism). It's convincing. 'You Said' then bursts in like the closing credits of a Super Mario game before appeasing us with some 80s goth-electronics that manage to somehow shine through as uplifting.


The synth-assault doesn't let up: 'I Can See Through You' could easily be prescribed to post-Breakfast Club nostalgics as a sedative, but still bashes out some solid riffs to veer this side of the century divide (think Placebo covering The Human League). One slightly-less 80s derivative is 'Endless Blue' which thrusts the band into romantic shoegazing. The lyrics are typically vague ("you're never certain of anything unless you go in") but it seems unlikely that most listeners would care over those guitars. By 'Dive In' the album begins to feel a little bit of a compilation - the band's impression of so many different genres and generations - because this is unapologetically Britpop. Sounding a little bit like a Suede track dragged out, it's quite easily my least favourite track (and I'm a huge Suede fan) because it feels so out of place.

Especially when 'Still Life' follows. Faris Badwan is at his most clear vocally here and it's quite easy to see why it was chosen as lead single, when it's as bold and straightforward as... don't take this as an insult... Electric Light Orchestra. 'Wild Eyed' follows; an inoffensive little track with a little repetitive but pleasant rhythm. Again the lyrics are cliché: secrets and lies are mentioned, along with a desire to float away. But with a backdrop as picturesque as these on show it's difficult not to get caught up in the serenity. Having dabbled liberally with krautrock in the first half of the album, the Horrors indulge us with 'Moving Further Away' which, at over 8 minutes long, is as electronically charged as a Kraftwerk show.

At last a glimmer of the 2007 generic indie flicks appears on 'Monica Gems' and whilst the bassline is safe enough to secure them NME's support, it's the minor attention to detail (such as the bells throughout, or the chorus' experimental guitars) that injects something special here. Any sceptics should be left answered with closing track 'Oceans Burning', though, a quiet and suggestive piece that echoes and rattles as an entirely uncertifiable entity.


However much you could immerse yourself in claims of a lack of originality about the band, they've clearly found a sound that they're fans of and extenuated those claims with a brilliantly-crafted and cohesive album. It's a little too aesthetic for me to endure anything beyond a brief flirtation, especially since I'm a fan of many artists they're pastiching (Echo and the Bunnymen, Simple Minds), but in a musical environment where bands experiment clumsily and often fail, the Horrors have pulled off a faultless album.

Rating: 8/10
Highlights: Oceans Burning, Moving Further Away, Still Life, Endless Blue, I Can See Through You, Wild Eyed
Avoid: Dive In

Artwork Watch: THERE ARE COLOURS, MANY OF THEM, AND EACH OF THEM PRETTY.