The Horrors - Strange House

The Tune for Today is:

The Horrors - She is the New Thing

She's a special girl you know, the kind I'd hope to seeHanging on a wall, watching me cross the streets

I wonder how long it will be before I'm sick of herAnd I no longer care where she goes or has been

'Cause she is the new thing, but she is the new thingShe is a new thing, but she is a new thing

She is a new thingShe is a new thing, another new thingFeel my stomach sink as I curse my slow limbsShe is a new thing, always a new thingStaring at her, ulterior girl

Once she had me on my knees, enamored with diseaseNow, she fails to impress a different sicknessA different kind of sickness, lacking any interest

And I, sunk in apathy, totally absorbed in meSitting vacant on my own, my senses lying cold

She was a new thing, she was a new thingShe was a new thing, another new thingAnother new thing, another new thing

She was a new thing, another new thingFeel my stomach sink as I curse my slow limbsShe was a new thing, always a new thingStaring at her, ulterior girlI cast myself into whatever she brings, another new

With sickness, it ends how it beginsFirst mine then hers and then the cycle blursAnd my actions reoccur through no fault of my ownThrough no fault of my own, through no fault of my ownThrough no fault of my own

Another new thing, another new thingAnother new thing, another new

Review by Heather Phares

On their singles and EPs, the Horrors proved they'd done their post-punk and freakbeat homework. With their debut album, Strange House, they push their sound forward, distill it to its rawest essence, and give it a few funhouse mirror twists and turns for good measure. Almost half of the songs on the album already appeared on previous Horrors releases, but the ever-so-slightly cleaner production here gives more definition to their black-on-black sound. The band kicks off Strange House by revisiting their cover of Screaming Lord Sutch's "Jack the Ripper," which begins at a zombie-slow pace, then suddenly speeds up halfway through, transforming into a hurtling roller coaster of a song that makes a great introduction to Strange House's mix of campy humor, energy, and menace. With its dive-bombing noise barely held together by Faris Badwan's shouting and the faintest hint of a melody, "Sheena Is a Parasite" is still the Horrors' best and most radical song, although several other tracks here rival its black-hearted thrills. Once again, Spider Webb's vicious keyboards are the band's not-so-secret weapon, especially on the fantastic, strutting "She Is the New Thing," which blurs the line between girls and trends, flings and boredom, with macabre flair. On Strange House's wildest tracks, the Horrors channel their idol Joe Meek's love of wild sounds. "Thunderclaps" grafts galloping rhythms, twangy guitars, and chanted backing vocals together, Frankenstein-style, while "Little Victories" brandishes noisy onslaughts and turns them off just as quickly. The very end of the album gets even weirder and more deconstructed: "Gil Sleeping"'s woozy organs and jazzy drumming and "A Train Roars"' ominous, loping rhythms show thatthe Horrors are committed to pushing the boundaries of their sound, even if these experiments aren't quite as immediate as their more song-based work. the Horrors are unabashedly arty and stylish, but they're a great example of the kind of art-school band that lurks in the shadows of British rock (and of which there have been too few in the 2000s). If you like what the Horrors do, then Strange House is an album that can never be loud enough.

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The Horrors

The Tune for today is:

The Horrors - Endless Blue

Everyone seems so far awayGlittering jewels that you never hadYou'll never own 
Everything 

seems so far behindSee yourself in the places you've beenSome other time
In endless blueReflections look so goodYou're never certain of anythingUnless you go in
Endless blueSeems so far awayA glittering jewel that you never hadNor will you again

At high tide, high tide 
Everyone seems so far awayGlittering jewels that you never hadYou'll never ownEverything seems so far behindSee yourself in the places you've beenSome other time
At high tide, highAs far as you can sayAt high tide, high tide

Endless, endless, endless

It's endless
 

Skying boasts a song called “Moving Further Away,” and that’s exactly what the Horrors do on their third album. Neither a return to Strange House's goth-punk nor a simple continuation of Primary Colours' acclaimed Krautrock/shoegaze fusion, this time the band sets the dials of its way-back machine for the mid- and late ‘80s, sampling post-punk luminaries such as Echo & the Bunnymen, the Psychedelic Furs, and Simple Minds as well as the era’s baggy trend. Yet somehow the Horrors' chameleon act seems more cohesive and convincing -- or perhaps it’s just less shocking to hear them give their music another complete makeover. The main remnant of Primary Colours is that album’s atmospheric yet detailed production, which the Horrors embellish further with dense layers of synth, guitars, and vocals. Skying's centerpiece and lead single, “Still Life,” defines its approach, with sparkly mid-‘80s keyboards and brass that only strengthen the feeling that Jim Kerr sang this song over the credits of some long-lost John Hughes movie. Though “Still Life” isn’t as striking a salvo as Primary Colours' “Sea Within a Sea,” it’s just as striking in its own way, and even if nothing here quite matches their previous flashes of brilliance, Skying reflectsthe Horrors' growing abilities. Not only do the bandmembers stretch the muscles they developed on Primary Colours with workouts like the aforementioned “Moving Further Away” and “Oceans Burning,” both of which expand on “Sea Within a Sea”’s motorik rhythms and suite-like movements, they also turn in some downright poppy moments like the towering “I Can See Through You” and “Endless Blue.” While the Horrors' main skill still seems to be embodying whatever styles catch their fancies as completely as they can, they put more of their own stamp on these sounds, as “Dive In”’s melodramatic take on baggy’s usually fun-loving grooves and the dub influence hovering around “Wild Eyed” attest. Interestingly, Skying's most overtly rock song, “Monica Gems,” is far tamer than anything on Strange House and even a good chunk of Primary Colours, underscoring just how far they’ve ventured with each album. Regardless of where they end up next, the Horrors have already traveled much further than most listeners would have imagined.

Review by Heather Phares on allmusic

Tune the album songs here