Horror Pop Escapism
by Zachary S. Lim on August 25, 2011
Photo from the Internet
Sometimes we all need an escape from reality.
Past legendary musical geniuses resort to chemical assistance to fulfill this—Jimi Hendrix, Sid Vicious, and the recently departed Amy Winehouse.
So when band members openly admit their music was inspired by “taking loads of pills [and] loads of ecstasy,” it may provide a psychedelic effect to its listeners. The introspective daze is attained, only this time, through sound.
For UK goth-rock outfits the Horrors, it’s more than an excuse to wipe out a pharmacy. In their third album Skying, it marks a significant leap of faith for the band since following their ex-producer, Geoff Barrow’s advice to produce the album on their own.
And so they did. They built a studio in the loading bay of an old factory in east London and came out with Skying—both a twisted and chilled version of pop music.
The five piece’s collective effort got them to the 5th spot at the UK charts, the cover of NME magazine as well as positive reviews from virtually every major critic on the scene.
The album in itself is quite ambitious, as bassist Rhys Webb explains they wanted to make music their listeners will lose themselves in. “The thing we like is trying to take you somewhere else. To remove you from wherever you are,” he says. This accounts for the solid and decisive vibe of the album.
Overall, Skying is an incredibly dynamic album with a range so diverse it’s almost hard to believe that it came from one album. The Horrors took bits and pieces from significant musical genres of past decades, varying from new wave melodies of the 80s to grunge guitar riffs straight from the 90s.
A definitive form of their sound is hard to declare, but every possibility from every instrument is explored equally—no other member or instrument is left taking the reins. As far as a thematic feel goes, The Horrors succeeded in creating a sort of hypnotic psychedelic rock with some new wave sensibilities.
Their standout tracks include “You Said” and “Still Life”, where the vocals provide a sort of pained crooning that sits easily on gliding guitars and chilly keyboard notes that follow a steady crisp beat. It also shifts to bolder gear on “Changing the Rain” and “Moving Further Away”.
The electronic end of things boasts quite an impressive range of sounds and textures compared to their earlier efforts. The band heavily invested on making unique, full-bodied and well-developed tones for each song, unlike most indie acts that seem content with packaged effects and Playskool chiming. It is quite the impressive feat considering they worked on vintage analogue synthesizers and some incredibly abused FX pieces.
Production-wise, the sound mixing hits the mark but the finer points of orchestration are overlooked. Within the track, the sound comes off as rather heavy, thick and unrelenting without a lot of room for each song to have its space to sink in. Tracks on the album could have definitely been managed better, especially since the transition from song to song leaves a lot to be desired. The hitches make it sound more like a mix tape of greatest hits rather than a cohesive stream of audio.
All in all, this is album may prove to be an acquired taste for those who have a casual take on their music. For those with more discerning tastes, Skying by The Horrors is an excellent album in a league of its own. Despite its shortcomings in the production department, each track on the album is an excellent working of fearless musicianship.
