Skying
Product ID: 60521228
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Product Description Self-produced and recorded in The Horrors' own self-built studio in London's Dalston, Skying was mixed by Grammy Award winner Craig Silvey. Featuring ten new tracks including single "Still Life", Skying is the band's third album following 2009's Mercury Prize nominated Primary Colours and their debut Stange House which was released in 2007. Review The Horrors know all about deceptive appearances. Their mid-00s emergence saw the music press in a lather, hype peaking with inevitable derision creeping forth from (perhaps rightly) cynical corners of the blogosphere. Garage-punk squall, a look (and sound) that was half-Birthday Party, half-Cramps, undertones of something decidedly goth: while the Southend-spawned band presented a great-looking package, the style-over-substance accusers were many. But the distorted riffs of the band's 2007 debut Strange House would give way to something else. By blindsiding with an assault designed to divide, the five-piece managed to work away in the shadows on a second LP that reinvented them as psychedelic Krautrock cosmonauts. Primary Colours, said set, couldn't have been better received. Doubters changed their tunes, and the Mercury Prize panel responded with a nomination. In a year of weak competition, it should have won.So it's no surprise to find that album three positions The Horrors in a brand-new musical era; for them, anyway. From the modular melodies and hypnotic hooks of Primary Colours, distinctly 70s in design, they've landed in the 80s with anthemic synth-powered pop-rock at the height of its commercial powers. This much is perfectly clear from this collection's lead track, Still Life, which presents such parallels with Simple Minds that it's a wonder deeper research doesn't reveal it to be a forgotten cut penned by Jim Kerr around 1982. It's instantly engaging, backwards instrumentation opening a piece that sprawls for over five minutes without ever feeling lazy, or over-long. At the centre, frontman Faris Badwin is in the best vocal form of his career, his measured power a lifetime's schooling away from the unhinged screams of Sheena Is a Parasite. The control he conveys perfectly suits music which is shiny in all the right ways, cool and crisp and clear but never delivered without heart. Opener Changing the Rain walks a similar stylistic path, too.But Still Life isn't the tone-setting offering some might expect it to be. As with Primary Colours, which was introduced by the eight-minute drone-goes-disco (in a German space station, circa 1975) workout of Sea Within a Sea but ultimately scattered itself across the shop, this album throws many different shapes across its run time. And the songs are given adequate space to develop fully - nothing here clocks in at under four minutes, and four of the 10 tracks stretch for over five. The Horrors well and truly don't trade in short-and-sharp shocks these days; rather, their songwriting has found new arenas to grow into, and the results throughout Skying are never less than captivating. Take Endless Blue, which opens with loping percussion and tooting brass - it threatens to meander meaninglessly, albeit prettily; but then the band detonates a couple of unseen grenades just before the two-minute mark, and the piece becomes a nuclear-powered Oasis with Bowie on vocals. And it gets better: a grunge-like squeal in the guitars cracks and in come the synths, lifting Badwan's performance to never-before-reached heights. Moving Further Away pulls a similar trick, initially deceiving with Human League keys before transforming into a Neu!-meets-New Order-does-Nirvana stratosphere-popping symphony for analogue-lovers; as it becomes louder, so the layers stack, and the effect is mesmerising. Closer Oceans Burning is the band's most beautiful number yet, a kind of Cocteau Twins/Echo and the Bunnymen hybrid that glimmers in the album's final streams of fading light.There's no fault to be found with Skying - truly, every song here hits its mark, and while The Horrors are evidently a band happy to change its spots from record to record (and steal a few licks, too), only the most ungracious of observers could deny that they've now crafted two of the finest British albums of recent years. From the most incongruous of beginnings they've become national treasures in waiting, and now possess the ability to realise any ambitions. Their New Gold Dreams have become brilliantly real. --Mike DiverFind more music at the BBC This link will take you off in a new window
R**K
The Horrors - The Year of the Synth
It was John Peel who once complained about too many "white boys with guitars" in indie music and it has to be said that this pointed taunt could have been accurately aimed at the Horrors whose claim to fame was largely being the best set of Goth haircuts on offer and little else. As such it was refreshing to hear the massive step change that was their last album "Primary Colours" which saw them cut loose and prove that the style did not have to triumph over the substance, They picked up influences from German bands like Can and Neu and turned out big songs not least the epic "Sea within a sea". That said while "Primary Colours" was a really good album it still had "issues" as the band struggled to find its true identity with songs like "I can't control myself" actually sounding like a bunch of Suede impersonators on Karaoke night. The logical step for the band was therefore to deepen further the themes of "Sea within a sea" and produce a more darkly inspired album of 80s style synth pop with hooks big enough to catch a whale and with cool panache to spare. Indeed they do this so successfully that on the third track on this new album "I can see through you starts" you expect Phil Oakley from the Human League to sing out just before it mutates into something altogether more sinister.There is little doubt that some of the more purist Horrors fans may recoil and find this album a tad to commercial. "Endless Blue" for example is all lovely slabs of almost Miles Davis trumpet sounding synths until mid way through it breaks into a huge guitar riff not heard since Jesus and Mary Chain ruled the earth. And that is the point about "Skying" namely that the Horrors are a cunningly intelligent band able to subvert and deconstruct their own songs regularly avoiding the quiet of the harbour for the rough of the seas. More than that unlike "Primary colours" the quality dial hardly dips while at the same time the sort of arrogant swagger that you expect of a band hitting its prime is evidenced by the truckload. The great opener "Changing the rain" starts off sounding like a dance version of Kraftwerk and we are finally forced to face the reality that Faris Badwan has actually got a great singing voice. The forthcoming single "Still life" cries out to be a hit building from (dare I say it!) an Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark style riff to a thumping great pop song. Above all others it is "Wide eyed" which is the song that grabs you by the lapels and demands your attention. An atmospheric vocal over swaths of synths which echoes the great themes of David Bowie's "Low". Even more surprisingly it is a very sumptuous song with huge melodies and a concluding trumpet fade out. The only real nod to the Horrors of old is "Monica Gems" which is the weakest track on "Skying" not least since it does feel a little out of place with Faris Badwan again doing his best Brett Anderson impression. To be fair they set this misstep straight on the final track the seven minute plus "Oceans Burning" a giant swirling psychedelic ballad with a haunting backdrop which is packed full of so many ideas that the opposition must be seriously worried quite how good this band have become. To hammer the point home all this is confirmed a couple of tracks before with the albums big eight minute synth workout "Moving further away" which will become a staple of their live act to sit alongside "The Sea" with a keyboard riff so relentless you should be allowed to invoke anti-stalking legislation. "Skying" then is an great album that fully delivers on the huge promise of "Primary Colours" and on its evidence it is only a matter of time before the Horrors move out of the John Peel tent and head to the headline stage of Glastonbury.
S**Y
"A glittering jewel that you never had."
At the end of 2011, I became aware of this album because it featured in several 'best album of the year' polls. I was surprised that 'The Horrors' had made an album that was so highly regarded by the music press, as I was less than impressed by their initial efforts and dismissed them as talentless Goth wannabes. Curious to know what all the fuss was about, I decided to buy this album and when I listened to it, I was amazed at just how good it was. They had created an album that borrowed freely from pop's past - as most great pop and rock music does - yet still managed to make it sound fresh and exciting. Though lead singer, Faris Badwan's murmured vocals make it difficult to glean meaning from the songs, it is still a joy to listen to, nonetheless.1. Changing The Rain - To my ears this sounds like something Primal Scream could have sang in their heyday. Psychedelic revival.2. You Said - "...You've got to give me love / you've got to give me more..." Possibly about a dying relationship, the music is glorious.3. I Can See Through You - An exhilarating sonic, euphoric adventure!4. Endless Blue - If I had to pick a favourite then this would be it. It starts with a floating, dreamy intro with horns before abruptly changing into a driving rock attack of guitar and drums. If you're into a bit of air guitar, then this is for you.5. Dive In - A song about a girl committing suicide?.. Whatever, it has a great shuffling beat and a thrilling, driving chorus.6. Still Life - "...When you wake up you will find me..." A spiritual awakening? Perhaps someone waiting for the person whom they love to share their feelings? Whatever its meaning, it is a lovely song with some great keyboards.7. Wild Eyed - "...I know all your secrets / I know all your lies..." A mellower track than most of the album.8. Moving Further Away - A fantastic song, propelled by a great synth line and a simple, three word chorus. It may well be the catchiest song on the album.9. Monica Gems - Not amongst my favourite songs, it does sound an awful lot like Suede.10. Oceans Burning - Possibly the album's weakest track but that's no disgrace considering the quality of most of the songs. I just think it goes on way too long, in a rather discordant, tuneless fashion.So, if you haven't already bought it, I urge you to do so. I never tire of listening to it. I would also recommend their follow up album, 'Luminous.' It's not quite as strong as 'Skying' but it's still worth a listen.
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