The Horrors

Photo Credit: Jenn Five/NME.

The Horrors have returned with a new jazzy Japanese-inspired aesthetic, and what a return it has been. With a tour to commence in mid-October and a new album on the way, The Horrors will be playing Bristol’s Bierkeller on the 25th October which, to my surprise, is an intimately acquainted venue for a band of their size.

These guys are one of the most interestingly transitional bands in recent memory; starting out as a hairspray punk rock band that sounded a lot like Joy Division before they came Joy Division, the band have since epitomised the word ‘evolve’. And, with each album released, have become increasingly experimental. As a result, their sound has bloomed from something you’d expect from a punk support act to an atmospheric – albeit psychedelic – sound that’s compared to shoegaze greats My Bloody Valentine but with the vocal range of The Psychedelic Furs.

Machine, the first single released by the band this year, was a punchy, hard-hitting song which I’m betting will be the band’s opener for upcoming shows. The second single, Something To Remember Me By had synthetic similarities to that of LCD System and finally Weighed Down mellows it down a tone and allows for the audience’s souls to swing to focus on drumming and subtle guitar lines – developing a space-like atmosphere that Spiritualized would commend. I’ll be hoping that the band’s new album V (how very vague), keeps up with the constituency of its singles. If they’re anything to go off, along with the band’s art direction – October 25th will be a very pleasant night, indeed.