The Horrors
Skying

Release Date: 2011 | Tracklist

The temptation to turn the clocks back and pilfer from the past must be overwhelming for a 21st century indie rock act. Who wouldn’t want to make use of any available short-cuts to fame and fortune, with the opportunity to emulate your heroes and get lost in nostalgic reverie just another tasty cherry on top; after all surely there’s no need for each and every musician operating out there to make a claim for originality and wild experimentation. The argument goes that very little out there can be truly ground-breaking anyway and there’s really nothing at all wrong with being derivative so long as an artist’s comfortable in their own skin and brings a new twist to familiar sounds. As with much in life we’re dealing with shades of grey here; there are those bands who’re predominantly forward looking who just keep half an eye on the rear-view mirror...and then there are those acts who're flat-out stuck in a time warp. Ahem.

So retro is most definitely the word with The Horrors, from the very first spin this album’s influences are writ large in the sky; `Disintegration', `Loveless', some Simple Minds and Galaxie 500 sprinkled here and there, a pinch of early Radiohead and a little latter day Suede. You'd struggle to make anything too unpleasant from that list of ingredients and it’s true that `Skying' never fails in laying down an impressive wall of noise, unfortunately what this album does struggle to deliver are truly memorable songs and vocal melodies; blandness and a nagging sense of familiarity seep in early and prove stubborn to shift.

Thankfully there are moments on ‘Skying’ that distinguish themselves from the general malaise; mid-album rocker `Endless Blue' is a stand-out effort opening with a dreamlike instrumental passage before a churning riff sweeps it aside in a dramatic flourish, the song powers along impressively without ever delivering the vocal hook required to cement it as truly memorable; and `I Can See Through You' pays homage to `Loveless' in the feel of the main riff in the verses before offering up a catchy enough chorus, the song sweeps you along through momentum if nothing else. The album also boasts the hit single `Still Life', the only song here to deliver a distinct vocal melody, although it’s also the one that sounds most like a refugee from the closing credits of an 80's teen flick; the `when you wake up' chorus is just so eerily familiar it'll send you reaching for the album booklet to check if it’s a cover you’ve somehow forgotten.

The remaining material is all very much of a piece and this makes the album a real struggle to listen to intently from start to finish in one sitting. Being somewhat derivative isn't a crime in itself; many albums are obvious in their approximation of another musical era but still sound fresh thanks to an enthusiastic performance, risk taking in terms of range and consistently engaging song writing. On `Skying' the Horrors have been found lacking in these very qualities and have ended up delivering something undeniably pretty but also more than a little indistinct and worryingly lifeless in places.

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3.7 great

Rank: #96 for 2011