BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
Sometimes you check out band purely out of curiosity. That is what is happening here. In the 346th edition of The Savage Animal Mikey MiGo listens to the three studio albums of The Horrors for the first time.
We all miss out on something. There is just too many bands, too many songs, and too many albums to fully take in everything out there. Sometimes it’s for the best. I’m sure if many of us could go through life completely naïve to Nickelback then we’d be better off. Sometimes you know what you like and avoid certain music styles completely. Sometimes you’re born too late to get on board with something awesome. It happens to the best of us. The way I remedy this every month or so I’ll listen to a band’s entire studio album discography. Sometimes I’ll go back and listen to a classic act I missed out on like Simon and Garfunkle or The Pixies. Then there are times I’ll take in something a bit more “new” like In This Moment or OK Go. The problem is that I’ll actually sit through it all. If I hate it, I’ll let you know. If I love it, I’ll let you know. If I get bored, hear something that reminds me of something else, or want to dance I’ll make note of it. It’s all just one dude’s experience of listening to new music for the first time.
Why The Horrors?
Why not The Horrors? I honestly don’t think I could name one song by this band. I have no real frame of reference other than some bare basics like genre, a picture, the album covers, and that’s it. But all of that seemed cool so they seem like an interesting choice to listen to. They have a style and genre listing that I’m typically into. I don’t expect this listening session to go too far out of my normal realm, but it’s still new to me so hip-hip-hooray for expanding my musical lexicon. They have three studio albums and that’s what I’m going to listen to today. Hopefully my optimism won’t come back to haunt me…
Strange House
(2007 – 41 minutes) - The album slowly feeds us "Jack the Ripper" as the first track. The first thing I notice is that the vocals are nothing like I expected. There is a strain to the vocals that remind me of a Manson or a Morrison, but then it’s got its own thing going on. The song is a slow brooding, grizzly rock song that ends up breaking and going to chaos. It went from moody goth rock to crazy punk-fueled garage rock. I’m officially interested. "Count in Fives" wails and builds up as a messy drum bounces behind it. The vocals break and it goes into a spastic patter. It’s catchy as hell. The loopy-looping synth is addicting.
"Draw Japan" starts off bad ass. The bass and the cautious tones go into a panic set of vocals. The music is awesome. It has an organic feel to it like a garage rock or live track would have, but the synths and programming is intricate and layered. I really like the contrast they’re pulling off here. There is a lot going on in "Gloves". It just feels like raw chaos. It’s easy to get lost in. There are layers of melodic noise that somehow all complement each other well.
"Excellent Choice" is interesting. There is a weird spoken word thing going on as the almost surf-like melody plays in the background. I guess if angry drunk vampires surfed it would sound like this. I genuinely mean that in the best way possible. "Little Victories” is another abrasive song that somehow finds a way to make you dance to it. I’m really enjoying this so far. "She Is the New Thing" starts off with a brooding soundscape and builds into a fun bouncy melody. The vocals are more restrained and it’s one of the easiest songs to process on the album for sure. It’s a cool change up and doesn’t stray from the spirit of what’s been accomplished so far. I like seeing the range as well. Really cool song!
"Sheena Is a Parasite" does what we’d all love to do. It publically lashes out at someone. I don’t know if “Sheena” is real or not, but there is an awesome sense of hate behind it. The tempo of the song works perfectly, all things considered.
"Thunderclaps" seems like it’s going to be like their other songs, but then there is a weird sadistic chorus of chanting that makes it a little creepy. "Gil Sleeping" is a GREAT instrumental. It’s trippy and has some great layering. It’s Floyd-esque, but with its own knack for the gracious strain. That was easily one of the best instrumentals I’ve heard in a while. "A Train Roars" starts with a spiraling noise that goes on and on as rumbles behind build up. The vocals hit as the sound really starts to bounce. It has to be one of the better songs on this album. It just feels like it comes together. I found myself moving to the music more than absorbing the content. They do a great job of getting to swept up into their swarm. There is a “hidden track” deal going on here. So the last track is actually "Death at the Chapel". This was one of their singles, but they’re completely new to me so it’s my first listen. It can see why it was picked though. It’s a little more accessible and it’s catchy. If I heard it, I’d want to hear more. That can be said for the entire album though. This was a fun listen. When you love music, you get certain moments that are awesome. This was one of those moments. It was that feeling of hearing something completely new to you and feeling like you’re finding something special. I really enjoyed wrapping my brain around this band during the first half of this album. As it went on, I started to settle down a bit and really take in what they’re doing. Like I brought up while listening to “Draw Japan”, the contrast of garage and synth is really cool. I’m very curious to hear how these guys evolve so on to the next…
Primary Colours
(2009 – 46 minutes) - The second album starts with "Mirror's Image". It’s a slow drifting build up that eventually rises to more and more ambiance. Eventually it breaks into a song that reminds me a lot of Bauhaus. The vocals are more refined and the music isn’t as “punk” as it was on the first, but it works. It’s more subdued, but just as layered and interesting.
This leans more towards “new wave”, but let’s see where this goes. "Three Decades" starts off awesome. It’s a weird and uncomfortable break beat that ends up getting tangled up with what sounds like another song. It eventually all kind of blends together. There is just a lot of noise going on, but its damn interesting noise. I want to say that I’ve heard “Who Can Say". The opening bass-line and synth sound really familiar. This song reminds me of The Strokes a little bit, which for this listener is not a bad thing at all. This is one of the best songs of the band’s discography so far. It’s one of the most down tempo-ish songs, but it’s just a great tune. The spoken word break down is intense and adds a lot of the song as well. "Do You Remember" is another really good song. The guitar work is tremendous in it. The riff is enthralling and I think the song should be heard JUST for that. The thing is that the vocals, drums, bold ass bass-line, and production is just as good. This is another for the “one of my favorites so far” category. This album is shaping up to be killer, but the second half approaches. "New Ice Age" builds up for a minute before breaking. The buildup is a repetitive loop that draws you in. By the time that minute hits you feel like you’ve blinked once. The vocals hit. They’re more “punkish” in delivery, but not even close to as shout-y and strained as the debut album. The looping synth is unsettling, but his bass-line is pimp on the opening of "Scarlet Fields". It breaks down with some really interesting programming layered with some really simple and stripped down sounding vocals. The way it all comes together just works. Another solid track for sure. At this point I’m close to allowing myself to morph into a fan boy for this band. I took in the first few moments of "I Only Think of You" and legitimately let out a audible sigh and the word “wow”. It slowly floats and drags you through. It’s got a dark stance, but a beautiful push. Eventually about half way into this seven minute epic, it breaks into something more aggressive. It’s not abrasive, but you can just feel a firmer voice coming at you. Rocktastic. "I Can't Control Myself" has a throwback vibe to it. The lyrics and music are almost used to tease us and to plead with us at the same time. Its music you’d expect to hear playing in a really dark Ray Liotta coke scene in a movie. The title track, "Primary Colours", reminds me of Joy Division. It has a pleasant synth loop that makes it a danceable song, but it still has a swooping gloom over it. The album wraps up with "Sea Within a Sea". It’s nearly 8 minutes long so I didn’t expect to go anywhere for a while. It slowly comes over a horizon to meet distant vocals. The music is never not interesting and easy to fall into. Half way it, it goes bonkers with synth and production before eventually fading out on some really cool and simple tones. I like it!
Great album. It’s like I just listened to two different bands though. This album is really well produced and polished. The debut album was more “horror punk” than this well groomed “new wave” sound. It has a mid-80s vibe at times, but then the vocals start making me think of that weird pre-grunge era of college radio from the early 90s. The evolution of this band is heard clear as day. I’d not have minded some of the screamy chaos of the debut though. A blend of both extremes would not hurt at all. We’ll see where this next album takes us.
Skying
(2011 – 55 minutes) - The most recent studio album starts off pretty quickly with “Changing the Rain". There is a short build, but it breaks into a soundscape that is pretty big. I hate the overuse of the word “epic”, but that’s probably the best way to describe this song. It’s just a really full sound. They hit on all notes and it just works. It’s a swooping mid-tempo track that pulls and pushes you in all the right directions. The break down at around three minutes in is intense. I’m starting to get pissed that I didn’t know the awesomeness of this band already. What the hell have I been missing?
Looming rays of synth open up "You Said" before going to a really cool and chill melody. This one makes me think of those awesome stripped back Bowie songs that people seem to always sleep on. The lyrics are pretty fun as well. They’re not as snarky as a Morrissey, but their whimsical and full of piss and sarcastic venom. That’s right up my alley these days so maybe I’m connecting to this more than I normally would. I guess that’s what these “first impression” things are for though. The “… at least next to nothing” part makes me smirk happily every time it’s sung. I like the title of "I Can See Through You" before I hear one note. The music grows with a throbbing bass-line and soaring synth before breaking into a contagious melody. There is no way not to listen to this song and bounce on some level to the song. It’s just a good song. It’s so well done that I feel like I’ve heard it, but I think it’s just me being comfortable with it.
I almost thought "Endless Blue" was going to be an instrumental track, but it eventually goes into a great song. The music and vocals complement each other in a crazy way. You listen to it and know this is what you’re supposed to be listening to. I’m sure they want to make some money, but you don’t hear them really straying from their own tastes. I would imagine this would have been a single. The half way mark comes with "Dive In". It’s got a nice groove to it. I just basically sat back while listening to it and nodded my head along. I didn’t need to do anything else. My favorite part of this album so far is the bass-line break down that comes about half way into this song. Talk about bad ass. Hands down, "Still Life" is my favorite track so far by The Horrors. I just got lost in it. I could use a lot of the same positive adjectives I’ve used so far. All of the ingredients that go into what The Horrors sound is comes together perfectly in the song. If someone asked me to hear one song by this band I’d most likely play this one for them.
Next up is "Wild Eyed". It’s a more “distant” track. The vocals echo more, the synth is catchy, and there is tons of swampy/foggy atmosphere. Then like three minutes in and we get horns? I don’t know about that portion of it, but it’s good stuff for sure. "Moving Further Away" is over 8 minutes long. It’s a fun poppy garage rock song at start, but it slowly warps and melts into nothing and then warps and melts back into what it always was. I’m sure you say it about any 8 minute song, but this really took you for a ride. Cool thud drumming starts us off on "Monica Gems". It’s a mid-tempo vocal song, but the music is a bit of a swooping chaos. There is a lot of noise bouncing around, but it still carries. Something like this could go really wrong, but it’s not so bad here. It’s not my favorite song, but I can live with it. The album closes out with "Oceans Burning". It’s nearly 8 minutes long. It’s a beautiful down tempo song. It has a great rhythmic flow to it. It reminds me of Pink Floyd in trippy aspects of it, but they take things in a different direction that’s just simple “ear candy”. Great finish. This wasn’t my favorite album of the three studio releases so far. I’ll listen to it again, but at this point it just felt a bit “long” and drug out at times. But like I said, I’ll probably listen to it twice again before you read this so who knows. It’s a good album regardless.
THE VERDICT
(2003 – ) - This was fun. At times I found that it was really hard to describe the music. I like moody electronic music so this worked out nicely for me. The first album was a completely different sounding band. You can hear the same sensibilities in there, but the music is almost all different. I appreciated the raw and punk vibe of it. It made me want to be more aggressive. The second album had a way more polished and produced vibe to it. It still had a flare to it, but it was more in the lines of The Cure, Joy Division, or even Bowie at times. The sound of the first album would not be back. It just went away and they swapped it out for what I’m assuming was the more marketable style. I’m not quite sure what happened there. I was hoping the third album would have brought that back and showed a bigger balance. They were good at all of it so why not play with all the toys in the toy box? That’s really my only gripe. The sound of the first album was good and could have been expanded on. I feel like they just ditched it. The third and most recent album was a good one too. It’s an album that I’m sure sounds great through loud speakers on a nice back road somewhere. I’m still a BIG fan of this stuff. The genre and style is my thing normally. That’s why I’m shocked I’ve not gotten into this band earlier. I won’t make this mistake again. I’m sure I’ll take in all of their music, their videos, and maybe get to a show next time they’re in the Chicagoland area. When their next album comes out, I’ll listen to it as soon as possible. Basically, I have some criticisms but there is just way too much great stuff here to not go re-listen to these three albums right now. I suggest you do the same!
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