Jason's Pick: The Horrors - Skying

Friend Review:

Now, 80's synth pop has never been my favorite genre. Something about it is just not stirring enough for me, I guess it's too happy or something, I don't know. Anyway, when I heard the single from the record a month or two ago, my jaw dropped. I immediately though back to two years ago, to that horrid speed bump called "Primary Colours" and never wanted our relationship to wane ever again. Skeptical, I listened to the album to see if it was going to scare me off. It definitely did the opposite. Immediately the album starts with a rich and warming sound, which is something you wouldn't EVER expect from the Horrors. But something about this album is still so close to home. Much like Radiohead (yes, I will make that comparison. Haters gonna hate.) The Horrors had completely changed their sound again, yet stayed so close to the things that made me fall in love with them. Somewhat spacey, somewhat poppy, still sort of creepy, and as always, beautiful. Songs flourish before you, stretching into a lush soundscape, with Farris' voice adding color and accents. Songs that are slow, yet powerful (like "Still Life" and "Changing the Rain"). Where there are songs that make you want to sit back and soak in the beauty, there are also songs (like "I Can See Through You" and "Monica Gems") that make you want to dive in and explore. This album came together so well... until the end of the 6th song. Once the 7th song began to play, I knew that the album was fading. It was almost as though it was falling away from me; the songs were less inviting, stoic and insubstantial. I tried to get in to them, but it felt like I wasn't really met half way. Farris' voice begins to lose it's control and almost becomes lack luster at points, and by the final song it seemed like they just made up a song in the last hour they were in the studio. After being so excited in the first 3/5 of the album, I was left with somewhat of a sour taste in my mouth.
Despite the final songs, this is still a very strong album. Very very top heavy, seeing as the first 6 songs are outstanding, but still very good. I can look past a few songs if it means I get to keep the majority of the album. This didn't destroy my love for The Horrors, if anything, it made it stronger. I can't wait to see what they cook up next.

Friend Rating: 8.2

Hipster Review:

The first time I ever listened to The Horrors on their debut Strange House, I was caught a bit off-guard; it's pastiche of B-52's-esque New Wave and boogeyman garage rock had a slightly kitschy vibe, yet I felt a sense of excitement while listening to it. After a few revisits I gained a clearer understanding of the album, as well as what I thought was a better understanding of the band itself. Then Primary Colours came out in 2009, and upon listening to it all of my preconceived notions of The Horrors shattered like glass. It's brooding mix of Shoegaze and Post-punk was like a kick to the gut, an album that truly showed off their varied colors and proved that they were much more than a nostalgic romping punk outfit. To this day the album remains one of my favorites of that year, and every time I revisit it I'm reminded of just how special a band that The Horrors are.

Now we're at 2011, and The Horrors have created an album that once again shows how unwilling they are to remain complacent with one sound. This time the band goes for psychedelic Synthpop, a sound even farther removed from their debut than Primary Colours' was. The style change finds vocalist Faris Badwan showing off the more dynamic aspects of his voice, moving closer to the woozy melodicism he'd only hinted at in previous material. He's also loaded his voice with reverb this time around, allowing it to flow about with the free-flowing nature of the songs instead of just staying put, which ends up being both a good and bad aspect of these songs. The entirety of the album jumps between the poppiest and the most sprawling material that the band has put out. These two extremes balancing each other out results in a thematically focused album, but it also results in the whole thing being a tad overlong. Here and there some songs could've used some fat-trimming, and some songs lose their momentum halfway through. Despite this, the material here is strong and sustains itself for the entirety of the album, even if during some periods of drifting. While certainly not their bet album, Skying is still another reminder of why The Horrors are such a good band; no matter how much they change, they'll always be the same strange, wonderful group their fans fell in love with.

Hipster Rating: 8.4