The Horrors

'Primary Colours'

Black-clad Brits shake riotous need for speed.

Spin Rating6 of 10

These U.K. goth-garage ghouls made a splash in 2006 with "Sheena Is a Parasite," 100 seconds of strobe-seizure guitar and creepshow organ accompanied by a video in which actress Samantha Morton shimmied so hard her guts fell out. On their second full-length (produced by Geoff Barrow of Portishead), the Horrors make an unexpected bid for art-rock respectability, building up neo-shoegaze soundscapes and stretching Krautrock-grooved closing track "Sea Within a Sea" to the eight-minute mark. The result boasts an admirably moody menace, but lacks the debut's darkly comic drive.

Listen: The Horrors, Primary Colours:

By Mikael Wood

SHARE: