Heart of a Punk Soul of a Rasta

The Horrors Skying
Or
More Impressions from The Impressionists

Its HORRORS time again so let's get the usual journo hyperbole buzzword bullshit out the way as quick as possible shall we?

Scene Shifting - "Cramps".
Music Morphing - "Birthday Party".
Fresh Pallet of Colours - "Sheena".
Soundscape laden - New Gothic.
80's Retro - Twist or Stick.
Simple Minds.

Ok? All done? Let's get on with it then. Skying is album No. 3 by The Horrors, and as far as I'm concerned I'm shocked. You see I never thought for a moment The Horrors were going to make it album No.3. Last time I saw them LIVE they were backing up MUSE in a great volumous French stadium in October '09 and they looked like they couldn't give a toss and were ready to give up the ghost. Perhaps it was a case of a collective chemical in balance. Perhaps they were pissed at being told to support MUSE in France? Either way they weren't the vital outfit of only 15 months before. I thought The Horrors weren't long for this world. It shows what I know (yeah Jack Shit not Jack the Ripper), cos here they are again with yet another change of tack.

This time The Horrors delve deeper into the heart of the synth, and Faris Badwan leaves off Pete Murphy for a bit in favour of Phil Oakey, Julian Cope and …………….Brett Anderson! If Horrors No.1 "Strange" was all about The Birthday Party & Bauhaus, and Horrors No.2 "Primary" was all Joy Division and The Cure, "Skying" uses for its totem the vicarious melody driven lite synth futurist combos of the eighties: Simple Minds (spit), Depeche Mode (yawn) and Human League (nice legs). Luckily, for the most part, The Horrors proclivity for all things melodic, lite, and synth driven is tempered by a good sized dollop of darko gothic; without which, "Skying" would be a dull boy indeed - The Horrors side step dullness but only just.

"Skying" clunks and clangs into action with "Changing the Rain" from the start its apparent we're going to be led by the nose with synths from the house of Numan, Billie Currie and Dave Formula; but also there's a Vangelis filmic thing going on here too. And it's not all retro. Well if RETRO is the currency of the PRESENT. Then the sweet little ditty "You Said" could just as easily found a home at the Chapel Club's "Palace". "I Can See Through You" next, all naive melody and floweriness. This and the single "Still Life" is where The Horrors are at their most manicured and sedate. Or poised and stately - you decide. The Horrors don't seem to be in a rush on Skying, the overblown itinerancy of "Strange House" is kept in check, the LP hums along, "Endless Blue" follows; starting with crushed brass sounds and soporific tendencies (Note to self: stop eating lettuce) until the THRASH button is depressed and the Horrors are jolted back into life. Youth surfaces, briefly. "Drive In" then dunks us back under the ethereal waterfall everything becomes blurred, there's the unmistakable scent of Gaulois and yes I am talking bollocks again and "no one knows what no one said".

A large chunk of the LP is taken up by the 8 and half minutes of "Moving Further Away". It's like Kasabian with all testosterone removed. Kasabian for the geek. Kasabian without the MSG's. Kasabian to be sipped from of a china tea rather than drunk from a mug. D'you know what I mean yet or d'you need some more? "Moving Further Away" is probably the finest 8 and a half minutes on Skying. By the end of track eight everything has been sweet. We get it. It's immediate, easy, uncomplicated stuff with just enough dirt still under the nails to make it vital. But when it seemed impossible for The Horrors trip (or make a F*** of it) they do. "Monica Gems" is just 100% Suede, nothing added nothing taken away. WHY? It's not an impression. It's a crisp and concise replication. No! Finally "Oceans Burning" completes the LP and the conclusion would have been fine if only the conclusion had occurred at 5 minutes rather than after the protracted doodle and discordant morass of nothingness at 7 minutes 50 seconds. Sometimes more is less.

When all is said and done "Skying" up to track eight is a mightily fine thing. But with so many derivatives on the surface of what The Horrors do; where it's perfectly possible for them to create a good album, it's almost impossible for them to produce a great album. Musically, blatantly wearing your inspirations on your sleeve is not a problem as long as you have a fine ear and impeccable TASTE. Lyrically and vocally though, if you're dealing with impressions, you need to have some damn good stories to tell, or some wonderful poetry to spin, or a truth that needs to be told.
For The Horrors and Skying to be in anyway seminal you would need to negate the existence of The Birthday Party, The Cramps, Joy Division, The Cure, Bauhaus, Teardrop Explodes, Suede etcetera etcetera etcetera - I can't do it. That said if "Skying" is another strong forward step towards a final destination, it will have been worth it. The Horrors UK tour starts in October, I will be UP! I just hope THE HORRORS will be too.

11/10/11 - Waterfront, Norwich, Norwich
12/10/11 - Roundhouse, London
14/10/11 - 02 Academy 2, Birmingham
15/10/11 - The Warehouse Project, Manchester
16/10/11 - Leeds Cockpit, Leeds
18/10/11 - Digital, Brighton
19/10/11 - The Liquid Room, Edinburgh
20/10/11 - The Kazimier, Liverpool
21/10/11 - Academy 2, Oxford
23/10/11 - Trinity, Bristol
24/10/11 - Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
25/10/11 - Concorde 2, Brighton
26/10/11 - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham