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REVIEW: THE HORRORS AT BRISTOL TRINITY CENTRE (20/01/12)

The crowd gathered in this renovated church might range from diehards donned in “I Am A Horror” t-shirts to those who have only perked up their ears after “Still Life” hit the Radio One Playlist last year, but the levels of enthusiasm remain equally high in all corners of the room and, come the end of the evening, no-one will dare question this band’s tricks – The Horrors are tremendously, faith-restoringly real.

The Horrors arrive onstage with the unique kind of confidence that comes with having your third album lauded worldwide, and instantly seal the deal as they lunge into opener “Changing The Rain”. This being a rescheduled date – it was originally due to be played in October but was postponed due to Faris’ laryngitis – the band have had a further three months to hone the songs from “Skying”, and it’s evidently worth it. The restrained joy of the opener is almost therapeutic, as its multiple layers, translated seamlessly from album to performance, wash over the fervent crowd, who bathe in its bliss and hang on to their leader’s every word.

From there onwards, Faris’ following remain wild-eyed. The hazy euphoria of the songs from “Skying” is juxtaposed throughout with the almost Gothic darkness of those from “Primary Colours” to astounding effect, as “Mirror’s Image”, “Scarlet Fields” and “Who Can Say” continue to enthrall among the newer material. Indeed, there is an element of the Byronic hero in Badwan, as he displays his particularly sardonic wit – introducing “Sea Within A Sea” as “a song about that group of people who are actually moving over there”. He inspires fascination whilst remaining coldly detached as he leers, snarls, and fumbles with the microphone lead as the band nail their neo-psychedelic second single “I Can See Through You”, its pulsating keyboard riff swelling magnificently to a hypnotic climax.

The band play with wryly self-assured smiles, bassist Rhys Webb sashaying in his floral shirt and Joshua Hayward intent on extracting the weirdest and most wonderful sounds possible from his guitar, and although sometimes the discordant feedback can grate. “Dive In” is very nearly marred in this sense – the songs from “Skying” are the kind that you can immerse yourself in and escape with. The recurring motifs on the album of oceans and water make perfect sense live, creating an overwhelming sense of tranquility, and “Endless Blue”, a majestic, jaw-dropping beauty, encapsulates this completely in its dreamlike introduction.

But beyond the woozy, melodic psychedelia and ferocious garage rock is the secret behind the uniquely loyal allegiance that this band’s fans have towards them: a shared sense of alienation. At times tonight the songs are almost curative in their serene, lulling splendour, as Faris croons about his sense of disconnection (“everyone/seems so far away”) and offers guidance to his following (“forget/your regrets/ don’t lose your purpose, this is your hour”). Set-closer and first single “Still Life” is enchanting in its grand luxury, all sleepy synths and keyboard lines, and revolves around Badwan’s key mantra: “the moment that you want is coming if you give it time”. And each face he sings that to completely believes him, eyes glazed and jaws gaping.

The encore then sees them finish with “Moving Further Away”, a mind-bending, eight-minute shoegaze monster, whose relentless melody embeds itself into every single spectator’s brain and which escalates into a raucous cacophony of microphone feedback and distorted soloing from Hayward – an ambitious crescendo which could have been disastrous but which is instead a mesmerising, unstoppable triumph. On the final cymbal clash of this nightmarish, glorious racket – which does, at times, threaten to be just a little OTT – the band simply nod, offer a brisk “thank you” and slink enigmatically offstage.

Words: Conor McGillan
Photo and video: Yatin Amin

by 247 Magazine