Skying

About

The Horrors started out as a dark, noise-encrusted version of Britain’s latest take on the goth-punk of the Cramps and Joy Division (which we loved, even when confronted with the band’s costumy get-up), and have morphed into something quite spectacular: a smart bunch of guys — led by Faris Badwan — who filter the greats of decades past into something new and exciting. 2009’s <i>Primary Colours</i> smoothed things out a bit, toying with Krautrock and ‘80s alt rock, while retaining an interesting edge and delivering strong songs. Here, Faris and company fully embrace the decade of shoulder pads and hairspray — Echo & The Bunnymen, Simple Minds, and the “Madchester” scene all come to mind — but they have an inexplicable ability to reinvent rather than ape. “I Can See Through You” and “Still Life” have all the rapturous melodrama of Simple Minds — soaring, shimmering synths, and an irresistible “la la la” chorus on the former and crowd-swaying melancholy on the latter. But on tunes like the psychedelic mini-epic “Moving Further Away” and the glinting “Endless Blue,” with its gloriously serrated guitars, the organic and natural genius of the Horrors is quite evident.

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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