Horrors

Does anyone remember "Strange House"? Yes, that one: the Horrors' debut, which only a few years ago, back in 2007, stood out more for its glossy, "trendy" cover-boy look (see: "NME") than for its actual music. It was tempting to suspect we were looking at yet another British "next big thing" destined to be forgotten by the second album, or at least the moment the press spotlight switched off. Nothing could have been further from the truth. While it's true that the Essex band's first record already showed promise, it's genuinely remarkable how, despite their young age, the Horrors have since embarked on such an important journey and reached a startlingly impressive maturity.

Curiosity about how the five lads would handle themselves on the stage of the Hartvest Festival in Montalcino, the first Italian date of their tour, was running high, not least given the attention the band has always paid to production — whether on "Primary Colours", with wizard Geoff Barrow finding the miraculous trait d'union between Jesus and Mary Chain, Cure and Joy Division, or on "Skying", a meticulous, refined self-production paying tribute to 80s British new wave — production has always been a priority for them.

The Horrors take the stage after the long, and worthy, set by Paolo Benvegnù. Thin, pale, quintessentially British, they need little time to win over the crowd. They open with "Changing The Rain", probably the manifesto of the band's new direction: Faris Badwan's voice, never so clean, stretches out over a bed of keyboards that harks straight back to 80s synth-pop. The "killer" bassline then announces "Who Can Say", a little darkwave gem embellished by Joshua Third's distorted guitar. The keyboards move back to the fore on "I Can See Through You", a track that pays tribute, with class and rare intelligence, to the new wave of the late 70s.

The band's full absorption of the lesson taught by their "masters" is clear in their performance of "Scarlet Fields": Badwan's voice and a genuine New Order-style keyboard frenzy combine to build a track charged with pathos, underpinned by a solid rhythm section.

The concert is structured by alternating songs from the last two albums ("Strange House," as Faris Badwan recently stated, stays off the setlist), and it highlights how in "Skying" not only the vocals but also the long guitar distortions and the "gothic" keyboard sounds have given way to more elegant textures with a psychedelic aftertaste, evidence of the quintet's different approach as it explores new musical horizons. The intro to "Endless Blue," and above all the single "Still Life" (with echoes of Echo & the Bunnymen), are prime examples of this.

Certainly, the brazen confidence with which the band tears through tracks like "Sea Within a Sea" or "Mirror's Image" makes clear that the fury of their early days is still fully intact. And this will be the question shadowing Horrors through the next chapters of their career after the turn taken with "Skying": keep flying the flag for Britain's new wave scene, or attempt to climb toward mainstream success? Clubs or arenas? We'll see.

"Skying," a work of great cohesion and balance, has opened up new paths. We'll see whether the band presses straight ahead or lets itself be seduced by the siren call of pop that in the past has infected — not always to great effect — bands like Echo & the Bunnymen, Simple Minds and Cure.

The short but intense Montalcino show revealed a band in fine form, with an edge over the competition: the rhythm section is solid and pulsing, while the guitars and keyboards (the band's second voice) color the songs with varied, original moods. The singer, quiet and reserved, holds the stage well and has everything it takes to carry forward the tradition of great British frontmen. The future is in their hands. What color will it be?

Photo by Andrea Fabrizi

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