Though definitely more of an ode to rock’s past than its present, Primary Colours reflects the necessity for inspiration.
The surprise appearance of The Horrors' new single, 'Sea Within a Sea', has come as quite a shock to the vast majority who dismissed the band during their initial hype-fuelled rise. Where screaming excess and over the top clobber once held sway, the single’s video reveals a group of sombre aesthetes brooding over their instruments as they coolly erect an epic, eight minute wall of sound that slaps a motorik pulse onto the early 4AD catalogue, before slowly immersing it into a bubbling pool of kosmiche noise.
Time will tell how ‘Primary Colours’ stands up to the likes of ‘Loveless’ or ‘Psychocandy’, but right now, this feels like the British art-rock album we’ve all been waiting for.
Primary Colours is the most satisfying surprise that 2009 is likely to deliver.
Primary Colours is a dazzling, swaggering piece of work.
A listen to Primary Colors is more than music – it’s an experience. And, with the extreme exception of overtiredness, it is sure to boil your blood. In a good way, of course.
The Horrors will still have a hard time winning over new converts, but they’ve done a magnificent job of confounding expectations with this release.
The Horrors may still look like a noxious gang of Camden attention-seekers, but the thrilling bombast of Primary Colours will ensure we listen as well.
Primary Colours is not by any means a classic but it tells us not to light the torches. So let us put down our pitchforks and scrap any preconceived ideas we had about chasing these curious monsters out of town.
As bold and listenable as it is, Primary Colours is occasionally scattered, giving the impression that the band is trying on different sounds for size -- although the fact that most of it works so well is actually more surprising than how different it is from their earlier work.
The Horrors' shoegazer makeover aside, the real story here is Badwan's growing confidence as a singer, and his willingness to sound more scared than scary. Primary Colours loses its radiance when he reverts back to bogeyman type.
Primary Colours is definitely a positive change for the Horrors, and while it has some amazingly endearing moments, it lingers in areas.
The Horrors’ two-album evolution is very nearly a condensed study of how punk becomes post-punk, or really how rock and roll manages time and time again to transcend its origins and become Art.
Primary Colours doesn't hit its stride until the very end ... with the title track and the 'Sea Within A Sea,' where at times it feels like there is no sight of land.
Back in 2006, when they stormed the scene, the Horrors seemed more like the goth-rock version of Spinal Tap than an actual band. Decked-out in black drainpipes, with a guitarist named Joshua von Grimm and a cover of Screaming Lord Sutch’s “Jack the Ripper”, the Horrors managed to alienate as many fans as they won over. Their 2007 debut, Strange House, was a mix of rowdy, Stooges-style punk and gothic ambiance, but it ultimately fell flat
; perhaps because it all seemed like one big joke. And that’s enough for a single, an EP maybe, but a full-on album? The hype burnt out so fast there wasn’t even time for smoke.
Primary Colours falls harder than it deserves and the Horrors remain a pretentious, vacuous proposition: landfill indie rock with some synth burbles. Big fuckin’ whoop.
MAKE ME SCARED GOD DAMN
As much as I’m disappointed that I didn’t get spooked, this is pretty cool. Very post punky that takes inspiration from Joy Division and New Order, but also still kinda stands on its own because of the Shoegazey elements. The song that really floored me was New Ice Age. Bruh that build and drop is fucking incredible. That sent me back into my seat. The coolest fucking vibe of a song. I also thought Scarlet Fields, Mirrors Image, and Who Can Say are all very ... read more
Ditching the more garage punk sound for a shoegaze post-punk one which fits better with their ties to 80's Gothic rock was a smart move from The Horrors. For a nocturnal, psychedelic 45 minutes of pure dark and dense atmosphere and with easily their best song they ever put out Sea Within a Sea, Primary Colours is something special
Track Review
Mirror's Image 9/10
Three Decades 7.5/10.
Who Can Say 9/10
Do You Remember 8.5/10.
New Ice Age 8/10
Scarlet Fields 8.5/10.
I Only Think of You ... read more
Revival of Joy Division, The Cure mixed with a shoegaze sound. Even the front album cover looks like a The Cure cover
I first heard this LP during lockdown in a Tim Burgess listen a long (a practise I have continued with my brother). I immediately fell in love with this record, its maudlin angst filled aesthetic fitting perfectly with the crappy place I was in at the time.
Now, in a much healthier place, I still love this record and always will.
Essential Track - Sea Within A Sea
'Primary Colours' by The Horrors is, up to this moment, my last definitive rock classic record. After this one, no money was used to buy rock albums for my vinyl collection. This is an absolute work of art.
1 | Mirror’s Image 4:50 | 79 |
2 | Three Decades 2:49 | 77 |
3 | Who Can Say 3:41 | 88 |
4 | Do You Remember 3:28 | 79 |
5 | New Ice Age 4:25 | 84 |
6 | Scarlet Fields 4:42 | 80 |
7 | I Only Think of You 7:06 | 83 |
8 | I Can’t Control Myself 3:27 | 73 |
9 | Primary Colours 3:01 | 73 |
10 | Sea Within a Sea 7:58 | 93 |
#1 | / | NME |
#4 | / | MOJO |
#7 | / | Clash |
#8 | / | musicOMH |
#12 | / | No Ripcord |
#13 | / | Drowned in Sound |
#20 | / | Amazon |
#20 | / | The Line of Best Fit |
#20 | / | Uncut |
#36 | / | Stereogum |