Beggars Xl Recording
2009
Primary Colours
About This Album
A four-on-the-floor beat with a wash of synths isn't exactly the expected way for a Horrors album to begin, but that's exactly how "Mirror's Image" kicks off Primary Colours, which is such a big departure from the band's debut, Strange House, that it's fitting it's on a different label. Though Strange House's final tracks suggested that the band was looking for ways to expand on its resurrection of freakbeat and garage rock, very little suggested that its next album would be the triple point where goth, post-punk, and shoegaze met. This time out, Faris Badwan sings more than he screams, Spider Webb's keyboards sparkle rather than stab, and the guitars bend and blur instead of slamming out power chords (Primary Colours' out-of-focus cover photo even upholds the rule that shoegaze-inspired albums have to have hazy artwork to match the sounds within). Even their attitude is completely different: rather than dismissing an ex by snarling "She was the new thing," Badwan sighs, "I know you're better off this way." Then again, the Horrors always seemed artier and more ambitious than a lot of garage rock-inspired bands, from their cartoon-goth look to collaborating with visionary director Chris Cunningham.
Track List (try tracks 2,3,6 and 10)

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