The Horrors, Troxy, London review • DIY Magazine

The idea of change and transition is a marked fixture of The Horrors’ story so far. They went from goth hellraisers to krautrock-chuggers in the space of one album, before filtering their expansive approach into something more all-encompassing on ‘Skying’. There’s a big difference between their first three LPs and this year’s ‘Luminous’, but it’s not as startlingly, obnoxiously obvious until the whole thing fleshes itself out live. From the mind-blowing crash of opener ‘Chasing Shadows’ onwards, their UK tour send-off at Troxy eventually reveals a new, blossoming side of this mop-haired five-piece. Bit-by-bit, they’re gradually morphing into an all-out dance act.

We’re not talking one of Guetta spacebars and non-tactful drops. This is a set devoted to ascent, and true to form, it’s a performance that only gets better and more enrapturing as it progresses.

The band cite Detroit techno as a foremost influence on ‘Luminous’, but that’s only in the sense that they’re employing repetition and movement in similar ways. Tom Cowan has his way with every synth in existence, sure, but The Horrors are still an undisputed rock force. On the one hand they’re today’s finest representation of MBV-esque noise-employers. On the other, they fuse electronics and soaring guitar lines like the two worlds were always destined to meet. Not one speck of nostalgia arrives during tonight’s show. This is future music, destined for higher climes.

It’s a truth that’s cemented in their near ten-minute climax of ‘Moving Further Away’, a song that sees Joshua Hayward edge towards near-godlike level. His customised pedals start the storm, but throughout this closer he motions between finite solos and a screeching, never-ending sense of furore. The same theory’s applied in ‘I See You’, a song that threatens to never end, simply because with each raised note and decibel level, it keeps getting better. Nobody in attendance wants it to finish.

Within this great, hypnotic ascent, this set isn’t short of the odd blip. ‘Endless Blue’ and ‘Change Your Mind’ are fine on their own, but when following an opening section that includes ‘Luminous’ highlight ‘In And Out of Sight’ and the peerless ‘Sea Within A Sea’, The Horrors prove they’ve still a little way to go before becoming the full package. As they continue to expand, however, this already fully-formed routine will become something unforgettable. They’re one or two game-changing songs away from becoming one of this decade’s seminal bands. And as they progress, with Faris Badwan’s slim frame commanding for the whole ninety minutes, it’s clear they can practically smell how close they are to the big prize.