THE HORRORS - PRIMARY COLOURS (XL Recordings)

The story of the new album from The Horrors seemed very familiar. A punk/garage rock band - with a history that teased of gothic artistry & morbid lyrical curiosities -  take a sudden and experimental leap into dark maturity and produce a masterpiece that could be categorized as both "goth" and "psychedelic". The first two candidates for this scenario that come to my mind is TSOL with their no-longer-fucking-the-dead Beneath The Shadows album from 1982 and The Black Album by The Damned which was released 2 years prior and obviously a direct influence on the former. Now, more than 25 years later, comes The Horrors who have barely the discography or the street cred to promote any type of Damned/TSOL-sized legacy. 

Primary Colours had been my most reluctant record in 2009, however it has quickly turned into a daily listening necessity. I was hesitant due to the abrupt change in sound and style, but the record quickly grew on me like some sort of intergalactic flesh-eating moss that could drive an attention-grabbing storyline from The Outer Limits or Science Fiction Theater.  It had only been a year since I had surveyed members of my local horror rock community to achieve a consensus on The Horrors first album. Not an entirely revolutionary concept, Strange House had a dark and perverse atmosphere that starred what could had been Misfit-zombies that were sent back in time 40 years ago and freed to roam the Earth to cause havoc  - yet, instead, created fun danceable Farfisa-driven graveyard party rock.

Now, with Primary Colours, The Horrors have traded in superficial rock'n'roll points for tokens only given to the most NME-celebrated indie rock game-players. Such a currency exchange can only be possible when a band agrees to salvage their Sonics and Screaming Lord Sutch tributes and, in return, cover songs from Suicide while never hinting to the possibility that they might had just seen Kill Your Idols in some local art house theatre last year and warranted an immediate showcase of inspiration. So while songs like "I Can't Control Myself" and "I Only Think Of You" scream "Please compare us to someone important!", there has to be a "don't hate tha playa, hate tha game" philosophy implemented for any record reviewer who wishes to give Primary Colours fair justice. Still, how many times could a respected writer drop the names of "Joy Division" and "Jesus & Mary Chain" within a decades worth of reviews?!?

But what stuck with me is the unavoidable fact that Primary Colours is simply a better album than Strange House. Filled with haunting melodies that wrap around proto-emo rock lyrics ala Robert Smith ("Scarlet Fields" challenges you to "see yourself, your image in the eyes of someone else...your fears as they appear to someone else"), Primary Colours is a promising record for any hopeless romantic under the age of 30 who needs a soundtrack to embrace the lonely summer dusk hours. And if The Horrors are in need of legendary comparisons, than I will throw in one sure bet; the title track sounds like a cross between Beneath The Shadows era TSOL and anything off The Damned's Phantasmagoria.

Click the above album image to buy the CD from Amazon, or check out the music video for the first single "Who Can Say below".

Clicking >> here << will launch a pop-up screen that will allow you to sample songs and purchase downloads from Primary Colours.

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