The Horrors - V
With four albums and a ten year career already in the bank, it’s a known fact that The Horrors are chameleons of psychedelia. Each release from the Southend quintet has brought with it its own era – new sounds, shapes, colours – and the aptly, if unimaginatively titled ‘V’ is no exception.
Compared to previous albums from the Southend bunch, ‘V’ is sonically closest to 2015’s ‘Luminous’. It’s spacey and expansive, with long plateaus of whirrs and hums punctuated by melancholic verses. This album steps things up a gear with the introduction of more mechanical elements, most evident on Machine, a grinding beast of a track which fuses floaty synths with metallic percussion. It’s a similar story on World Below; the shortest song on the album bulks up soaring verses with harsh and soft sounds in equal measure.
This is by far the most beautiful Horrors effort to date. It feels more patient, more forgiving, almost heartbroken in places, something Faris Badwan and co have touched on before, but always under abstract ruses. Point of No Reply embodies this best. “You always take such pride in making people feel sick” Badwan moans, over a notably upbeat drum track.
Something To Remember Me By is a spine-tingling closer. Reaching on for almost seven minutes, its infectious chorus and visceral instrumental soundscape show that this is The Horrors doing what they do best – and may they continue to do it for years to come.
9/10
