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Album Review

The Horrors
Primary Colours XL Recordings

Article written by Ged M - May 4, 2009

The Horrors: Primary Colours

The strange thing in recent weeks is how surprised everyone’s been that the Horrors’ new songs have turned out to be so good and that underneath all that panstick and kohl lies one of our most musically adventurous bands. Set aside their early immature obsession with death and sickness and all the evidence that you’d need was contained in the debut album ‘Strange House’, the CD compilation they issued with their fanzine and the Spider and the Fly side project.

They always had some pretty impressive influences but they’ve expanded their sonic palette even further on Primary Colours. There’s some Joy Division, My Bloody Valentine and early Mute acts in the mix, and even an echo of their earlier girl-group fascination in the spoken word section of ‘Who Can Say’. These influences are highlighted in the slow drones and sad romance of ‘I Only Think of You’ and the fabulous 8-minute Krautrock pulsebeat of ‘Sea Within a Sea’. Tom Furse and Spider Webb’s experiments with electronic sound for Spider and the Fly pay dividends across the album with the effects-laden title track and the super-addictive keyboard riffs that reinforce ‘Mirror’s Image’, while even Faris has learned to sing rather than yell (although he’s learned to sing like Richard Butler). Sympathetic production from Chris Cunningham and Portishead’s Geoff Barrow has certainly helped the band to develop this sound.

All this shows that the first album was no fluke and that the Horrors are style and substance. ‘Primary Colours’ is a very strong follow up record, suggesting that they’re maturing into a really interesting band and, if they keep striking out in new directions, they’ll always be assured of a following. Sometimes good guys don’t wear white.

Links:
http://www.xlrecordings.com/thehorrors
http://www.myspace.com/thehorrors

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