Photo: Emma Viola Lilja
Showcasing thirteen tracks from their three latest and most prestigious albums, the boys have evolved their youthfully experimental style of music as heard on their debut album Strange House, and matured into a fine, rich and innovative wine.
The show opened with ‘Chasing Shadows’, commemorating the release of Luminous earlier this year, as well as playing deeply improvised versions of ‘Sea Within a Sea’ and ‘Scarlet Fields’ from 2009s Primary Colours, an album rejuvenating the shoegaze genre of the late 80s with a sprinkling of psychedelia. Strobes and luminous lights embellished the room which replicated the impeccable audio. Their amalgamation of styles encourages gigantic improvisations during shows which they utilise to inject unique touches into each of their performances.
With an obsessive affection for volume, if they don’t burst your eardrums with screeching fuzz they will stroke them with a wave of ethereal resonance. Joshua Hayward toyed with his arsenal of offset Fenders creating a wall of sound which generated the backdrop to Faris Badwan’s vocals amongst an ocean of synth crafted by Tom Cowan. Seeing this band at an indoor venue is a must, as the acoustics of their music play perfectly into a contained space which creates an atmospheric stroke to their ambient sound.
A delicate change of pace with ‘Change Your Mind’ was a pleasantly tame break away from their renowned reverberating style and was immediately followed with the thunderous ambience of ‘Mirror’s Image’. The set ended with the all-encompassing ‘Moving Further Away’ which rang out for over ten minutes expanding on the already complex studio version from 2011s Skying.
The gig was the last of their UK tour before they perform at Corona Capital festival in Mexico on 11th October. The Horrors are one of the more exciting and inventive bands which have arisen in the last decade and should be regarded as a priority to see live.
The Horrors played:
Chasing Shadows
Mirror’s Image
In and Out of Sight
Still Life
Who Can Say
I See You
Sea Within a Sea
So Now You Know
Scarlet Fields
Moving Further Away
Sleepwalk
Endless Blue
Change Your Mind
Below: 15 stunning photos of The Horrors at London's Troxy
