Review: The Horrors – Primary Colours
The Horrors – Primary Colours (2009) [XL] // Grade: B-
I’ve gotten probably no fewer than 10 IMs or emails all asking “Have you heard the new Horrors album!!??? Do you like it? If you haven’t, you need to hear it!”. I suppose my proclivity to all things Goth or Post-Punk sounding many people felt this would be right up my alley. Well they were right, but my mind is just not BLOWN!
If you can all take a trip back, way back to 2007 you might remember these lads from the UK. They were sort of a flash in the pan buzz band with an unfortunate Myspace meets Hot Topic scenester style who put out a decent but forgettable debut by the name of Strange House. They were like the Hot Hot Heat of 2007! That’s the second time I’ve used Hot Hot Heat as an adjective in less than a week, I’m sorry guys! Anyway, I sort of forgot about The Horrors or rather couldn’t remember what the difference was between them and the Kills was off the top of my head until I got re-acclimated with their last album.
While there are hints and glimpses scattered all across Strange House, Primary Colours feels and sounds like either The Horrors did some serious maturing or an entirely different band wrote this album. Where Strange House saw The Horrors mimic back a few signature “post-punk” it was an album of attitude and style over substance. Primary Colours on the other hand sees them genuine in their orchestrations to create a Post-Punk record.
I’m sure it’s going to draw them a slew of comparisons to Interpol, Primary Colours isn’t remotely as cut and dry as anything Interpol has ever done. Hooks are run through the mud, the vocals and guitars are buried in reverb which at times create a swirling vortex of sound undercut by simple yet catchy keyboard riffs. In trying to create something overtly catchy a contrary impulse to be discordant and confrontational rears it’s head in some way every single song which against all odds creates a nice yet frantic tension which is at the center of what makes this album good. I can’t help but think that this is what the Birthday Party would sound like were they to cover the Psychedelic Furs, a sweet yet dark marriage of the grotesque with the irresistible.
Primary Colours is very much a grower which took me quite a few listens for the album to really open up. But I was drawn to keep listening to it and that says a lot especially for an album this short on depth, but long on ambition. Those sorts of pairings almost never work out, but when they do you can’t help but find yourself drawn time and time again looking for more and enjoying the time spent, even if you don’t ever find what you’re searching for.
