The Horrors — Luminous (2014)

             The Horrors — Luminous
♦•♦   British garage punk revivalists who transformed into moody rockers with critical acclaim for their merger of goth, post-punk, and shoegaze.
Formed: 2005 in Southend-on-Sea, England
Genre: Neo-psychedelia, post-punk, dream pop, electronica, krautrock
Location: Southend-on-Sea, England
Album release: May 6, 2014
Record Label: XL Recordings
Duration:     51:36
Tracks:
01 Chasing Shadows     6:45
02 First Day of Spring     5:08
03 So Now You Know     4:59
04 In and Out of Sight     5:03
05 Jealous Sun     4:09
06 Falling Star     3:46
07 I See You     7:26
08 Change Your Mind     5:08
09 Mine and Yours     3:31
10 Sleepwalk     5:21
℗ 2014 XL Recordings
Reception:
♦•♦   Robert Earle of Stereola gave the album 10 out of 10, declaring that “the new sounds glisten through the trademark Horrors gloom but come up trumps in an album that manages to combine goth punk sensibilities with a dance framework. Their experiments with genre never cease to astound but always delight and dazzle.”
Current members:
♦•♦   Faris Badwan — lead vocals
♦•♦   Tom Cowan — synthesizer, bass
♦•♦   Joshua Hayward — guitar, piano
♦•♦   Joe Spurgeon — drums and percussion
♦•♦   Rhys Webb — bass, organ
Live members:
♦•♦   Freddie Cowan — guitar (2005)
REVIEW
By Olivia Schaff | 26th April 2014 20:00:00 | Score: 8
♦•♦   Southend's The Horrors return with the aptly titled Luminous, the eagerly anticipated follow up to the leaps-and-bounds progress that was 2011's Skying. Dance music for shoegazers? If that was the aim, consider this fourth effort a runaway success. Melding bright 80s pop, with candy-coloured dance moves and Faris Badwan's cool, understated vocals, The Horrors now exhibit a contemporary panache that few others seem willing, or capable, of delivering to this degree.
♦•♦   There is a lovely juxtaposition between Badwan's deadpan vocals and the music's sparkling effervescence. Take for example the way opener 'Chasing Shadows' creeps in before exploding into a wondrous cacophony of colors. The uplifting psychedelia of 'First Day Of Spring' maintains this intial interest, while the richly textured slow dance number 'Change Your Mind' contrasts nicely with the guitar heavy 'Jealous Sun' and 'Sleep Walk', with its excellent John Bonham-esque drum intro. Even the more retro numbers like 'Falling Star' are delivered with a splendid élan. This is a sure-fire winner, cementing their position as one of our most progressive and innovative bands. Keep shining on, you crazy diamonds. Fortaken: http://music.thedigitalfix.com/
Artist Biography by Heather Phares
♦•♦   Beginning as a big-haired, black-clad garage-punk outfit and soon morphing into something more experimental, the Horrors featured singer Faris Badwan, bassist Tomethy Furse, guitarist Joshua Von Grimm, drummer Coffin Joe, and keyboardist Spider Webb. The Horrors formed in the summer of 2005 and quickly gained notoriety around London for their look, sound, and brief but frantic live shows. Loog soon signed them, and the Horrors released their official debut single, Sheena Is a Parasite/Jack the Ripper, in spring 2006. The buzz around the band reached a peak that summer: the Horrors DJ'ed at the Troubled Minds club night, had to reschedule in-store appearances because of crowd concerns, and released their second single, Death at the Chapel. They also reissued Sheena Is a Parasite as a limited-edition DVD single. The song's startling video was directed by Chris Cunningham and featured actress Samantha Morton as Sheena. Late that summer, the band signed to Stolen Transmission in the U.S. and released a self-titled EP that fall. They also issued the Count in Fives single in the U.K. around that time.
♦•♦   The Gloves single arrived early in 2007, heralding the release of the Horrors' full-length debut, Strange House, which arrived in the U.K. that March and in the U.S. in May. In 2008, Webb and Furse formed the analog synth project Spider & the Flies, and released the album Something Clockwork This Way Comes. For 2009's Primary Colours, the band worked with Cunningham and Portishead's Geoff Barrow as co-producers, opting for a very different sound that mixed shoegaze, post-punk, and goth; the album was released by XL that spring and earned several critical raves, including NME's Album of the Year. In between albums, Badwan teamed with Canadian opera singer Rachel Zeffira for the hazy pop project Cat's Eyes, which released its self-titled debut in early 2011. The Horrors self-produced their follow-up, 2011's Skying, which featured a lighter yet still atmospheric sound that drew comparisons to My Bloody Valentine and the Psychedelic Furs. In 2012, they released the remix companion album Higher and embarked on an extensive tour. In 2013, they began work on their fourth studio album, Luminous. They announced details of the album in early 2014 and scheduled its release for May of that year. They released the single "I See You" as a primer to its release.
Discography:
♦•♦   2007 Strange House (Stolen Transmission)
♦•♦   2009 Primary Colours (XL)
♦•♦   2011 Skying (XL Recordings)
♦•♦   2014 (XL)
FARIS RADWAN
Birth name: Faris Adam Badwan
Born: 21 September 1986, Bexley, Kent, England
Instruments: Vocals, guitar, keyboards
Notable instruments: Fender Mustang
Early life:
♦♦  Born in Bexley, Kent on 21 September 1986 to a Palestinian father and English mother, Badwan grew up in Warwickshire along with three brothers, Tarik, Harry and Laith, and attended Arnold Lodge School in Leamington Spa. In 1999, Badwan obtained a scholarship to the exclusive public boarding school Rugby School, where he met Horrors bassist Tomethy Furse. Continuing his education, Badwan moved to London to study illustration at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in 2004, eventually deferring from his studies to concentrate on his musical career with the band.
♦•♦   Faris released a one-off single under the pseudonym of Lumina, teaming up with ex-Ipso Facto member, Cherish Kaya to record a cover of the Black Lips song "I'll Be With You". This recording appeared as a B-side on the Black Lips single "Drugs".
♦•♦   Badwan also produced Hatcham Social's 2008 single "So So Happy Making".
♦•♦   Badwan's illustrations have also earned him admirers, he has had his work featured on releases by The Horrors, the Charlatans and Hatcham Social, and VICE magazine has done a feature on his work. His 'Drawing A Straight Number Nine' exhibition featured a drawing series of 100 new works by the frontman and took place in London. Due to its popularity it was then taken to Milan, Italy.
♦•♦   Badwan discussed his work, "What I wanted to get across with this exhibition was how much of a part of my life drawing always has been. It invades all of my daily routine, be it in the shredded form of masking tape stuck to my walls, line-drawings on restaurant napkins or supermarket receipts, to the sketchbooks I carry with me. It really is the one constant solid thing in my life — a stream which runs regardless of what I happen to be doing or where." Livemusic.fm
♦•♦   In 2011 Faris collaborated with Canadian opera singer Rachel Zeffira under the moniker Cat's Eyes. The band have released an EP Broken Glass, and a full length self-titled album. The visual artwork for the debut album was directed by Chris Cunningham. Cat's Eyes are currently working on a follow-up record.
♦•♦   Faris recently appeared on the TV show Soccer AM, scoring in the spot kick challenge. He talked about his love of football and is a Blackburn Rovers supporter.
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The Horrors — Luminous (2014)

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