I remember us being initially incensed by The Horrors, a bunch of novelty goth kids on that Loog label pretending to be some noir-garage bunch of slasher maniacs but just looking like a bunch of fashion victims ala Nathan Barley. Now they've found a new home (XL) and have started wearing colours other than black. All very good I say, nice work boys. Like the Faris boys art, seen it in Vice, yes. Yup they're kind of a Vice homeband aren't they. Hmmm. I should hate them. They've found the button on their music "inventing" machine that is dymo taped "My Bloody Chameleons" which is very clever. They've then got the electronic boffin in the band to do things with his swooshy, tinkly bloop machine thing what makes it all sounds a bit modern so idiots like Nicky Wire start frothing at the lipstick smeared mouth. I'm not slagging this record you know, there's some cracking tunes on it and the MBV tremelo/dying seagull sounds marry well with the foot tappingly impressive new wave rock sound they've now adopted but it's actually not exactly original and to have Henry Rollins say it "totally rocks dude" or whatever the man of neck uttered recently - weird when HE "sang" in the behemoth that was Black Flag - is typical of that banal celebrity exaggeration and general clueless pandering that annoys me. Overall, this should really be on Hut records because it sounds like a Frankenstein's monster made out of all those bands that were on Hut between '91-'93, even Smashing Pumpkins. Oh and quite a bit of Bauhaus too, surprise sur-fucking-prise. Still, largely comprised of decent pop tunes so I give 'Primary Colours' it a 7.0 out of 10, they like their scores these young pups.
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Sound clips for Primary Colours by The Horrors: on vinyl at Norman Records UK. Double LP (vinyl), XL, XLLP418, £16.39.
‘Primary Colours’, the follow up to The Horrors’ 2007 debut ‘Strange House’, features ten tracks and was recorded last Summer with Chris Cunningham and Portishead’s Geoff Barrow.
Mirror’s Image * Three Decades * Who Can Say * Do You Remember * New Ice Age * Scarlet Fields * I Only Think Of You * I Can’t Control Myself * Primary Colours * Sea Within A Sea
Other items by The Horrors
Count In Fives The Horrors 7" (vinyl), £2.99 Sorry - sold out.
