Everyone’s favorite love to hate bunch of often labelled style over substance poseurs are back with a ‘shoegazingly’ delicious substance packed stylistic bounty of an album named ‘Primary Colours’. Their 2007 offer ‘Strange House’ was released to somewhat mixed reactions from critics and the listening public alike, I for one had them down as over-styled Russell Brand’alikes (I love you Russell). This record takes my views and rams them so far down my throat that I can barely remember them in their pre-digested form and you know what? It feels good! Sometimes it’s nice to be force fed humble pie by a bunch of scrawny, half-dead looking musicians. The single ‘Sea within a Sea’ smacks of Joy Division, The Jesus And Mary Chain and The Psychedelic Furs and the video isn’t too shabby either.
Against fairly heavy odds The Horrors have emerged with a record so dominant that it has their old material tied up in a basement of terror somewhere, defecating upon it like some sadistic tormentor. Music writers nationwide have been throwing around their usual apprehensive ‘toss’ but regardless of such ‘tossing’, this is a record that’s going to mean something for a while. Yes, the horrors call upon influences and elements of artists of the past,but who doesn’t? The difference here is The Horrors carry it off, it sounds good for most of the record, after listening once, you want to listen again.
The opening track ‘Mirrors Image’ creeps with electric kick and ghostly synth lead into Gothic chimes. The track develops a warm guitar led melody with a break beat style drum pattern and distinctive Krautrock vocals. They really mean business on Who Can Say, this track automatically makes you reach to turn the volume up, it’s just one of those songs. The distortion and the synths create a heady drug-like concoction. The track races on in a speed-induced state, heart pounding, eyes red and raging. Do You Remeber has one of my favorite intros I’ve heard in a while – it’s awesome. And finally the last track on the album and probably the most thought provoking for me is the title track Sea Within A Sea. It sounds like a scary demented carnival. Walking around a ‘house of mirrors’ in the dark for an hour, on crack, stumbling up stairs and through doors made for midgets finding your way out into a vast open desert as the guitar and bass kick in only for everything around you to turn to a maze of flames. As you race out of the maze, your accompanied by ‘pacman’ like noises and a bass that lumbers and growls like a grizzly bear with tooth ache. Now the drums are carrying you and your fortunes are starting to look up, you’ve shaken the crack and the flames are out, nothing to fear, blue skies above, clouds, light, the end…
Listen to Primary Colours on Spotify here…
Buy Primary Colours here…
