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Note for any aspiring musicians: if you're going to have a schtick, you'd damn well better pull it off. A few weeks ago we saw Datarock, and while they weren't our thing, the energetic party band vibe was only increased with the matching red custom track suits. Last week we saw The Pipettes, who playfully mimic the girl groups of the sixties with pop songs about love, sex, and boys (the fact that they're all hot helps a bit too). And Wednesday night we saw The Horrors, the UK "it" band more famous for who did their video (Chris Cunningham, creator of those demented Aphex Twin videos) than they are for their music. With shows like this one that's definitely set to change.
The 5-piece opened with a cover of Joy Division's "No Love Lost," with lead singer Faris Rotter setting the show's tone with his passionate delivery and stumbling, disturbed stage demeanor. The audience was in from the start, with the all-ages crowd forming an immedate pit (of sorts) near the front, hands raised for group rocking out. From there the group blew through most of their debut album Strange House and their eponymous EP over the course of an hour.
More on The Horrors including a faceplant and a video after the jump.
As a concept, the garage rock band adopts a gothed out appearance, with a lot of black, a lot of eyeliner, and one of this biggest 'dos this side of hair metal (or Disintegration-era Cure). The creepy vibe is exhibited most by Faris, who leaves you wondering whether he's really "off," or just putting on an act. Regardless, he's a consummate frontman, going beyond merely reaching into the audience and actually diving repeatedly into the crowd. He even did a faceplant after his attempt to walk over the audience didn't go quite as planned.
In the end, The Horrors laid it on thick. You could easily get caught up on a game of "spot the influence," but that misses the whole point. The Horrors are a rock band. They rock. If you removed all the makeup and mousse and put them onstage in jeans and t-shirts that wouldn't change. If rousing shows like this one are the norm for them (and we think they are), there's no doubt that the critics will realize this is a band with more than enough substance to back up their style.
Here's the group performing "Crawdaddy Simone" that night (read the comments for more details from the show):
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