Ghoulish dandies clad in jeans so tight they should barely
accommodate a skeletal femur, much early discussion of Southend's The
Horrors has revolved around their look, not their music. Pleasing to
note, then, that their debut album, Strange House,
is actually pretty exceptional. Part sinister Cramps-style gothic
rockabilly and part organ-fuelled '60s psychedelia, delivered at a nervy
post-Libertines rattle, you'd be lying if you were to venture these
eleven tracks were especially original. But The Horrors can certainly
whip up a chilling enough atmosphere, mostly due to the cadaverous bark
of frontman Faris Rotter and the humming organ riffs of Spider Webb.
Their haywire cover of 'Jack The Ripper' by Screaming Lord Such is a
deliciously morbid revival, but it's not the only judicious feat of
musical grave-robbing: debut single 'Sheena Is A Parasite' draws not
just title but breathless brevity from The Ramones' 'Sheena Is A Punk
Rocker' and Samantha Morton in the video, while 'Excellent Choice' offers up a spoken-word tale with a
grisly ending, a la the Velvet Underground’s 'The Gift'. All in all,
it'll shake your bones.
A1 Jack The Ripper 3:01
A2 Count In Fives 3:14
A3 Draw Japan 3:24
A4 Gloves 2:51
A5 Excellent Choice 2:53
A6 Little Victories 2:40
B1 She Is The New Thing 3:22
B2 Sheena Is A Parasite 1:42
B3 Thunderclaps 3:07
B4 Gil Sleeping 4:51
B5 A Train Roars 3:58
C1 Death At The Chapel
D1 Horrors' Theme
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