The Horrors - Skying
It’s been a little over a month since The Horrors unveiled their third album, Skying, and now they’re streaming it in all its glory a week before its release. Continuing from where 2009’s Primary Colours left off, it’s an expansive, shoegaze-influenced affair – head on right over to their website to check it out for yourself.
After a few listens, Skying feels like a more consistent record than Primary Colours. There’s no ‘I Only Think Of You’-style clunkers here – indeed, the album feels like an incredibly coherent whole, effortlessly flowing from track to track to form a singular, glorious expanse. As for highlights, there are many – ‘I Can See Through You’ drives itself forward with purposeful beats and a soaring chorus, while ‘Endless Blue’ pulls a fast one, starting out as a hazy wash of synths with trumpets floating over the top, before suddenly breaking out the spiky guitars. Elsewhere, ‘Dive In’ builds on its infectious drums and simple guitar line before launching into a mind-blowingly colossal chorus, ‘Still Life’ captures a dream-like state of mind, and ‘Moving Further Away’ feels like an older, wiser brother to ‘Sea Within A Sea’.
Skying sees The Horrors consolidating their stylistic about-face with considerable skill – it’s a beautifully-realised record of the kind you could lose yourself in for hours. The competition for ‘album of the year’ just got a little bit more heated, but with a record this good The Horrors could see themselves soaring above their peers.
Skying is released on XL Recordings on 11th July.
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