Victorian Horror's best show of 2009 is...

This year was tough. I was torn between choosing a big epic show like Moz or Depeche Mode, or a smaller show. If I based this on spectacle, showmanship, and my embarrassing fan-girly reaction, then Moz or Depeche Mode would've been the winner. However, I thought I'd follow last year's tradition of giving it to a newer band... so without further ado, the winner is:

THE HORRORS AT THE DOUBLE DOOR
Their blue-ribbon performance pushed them over the edge. It wasn't a big show, there weren't any flashy lights or video screens, but they really impressed me more than any other band this year.

The Horrors' "Whole New Way" Video

The Horrors' new single is the bonus track from the Japanese release of Primary Colours. It's a very pretty (in pink) one. Lots of Farris' face, and boy does he have a face.

The Horrors, Double Door, 10/11/09

What an amazing night. It was freezing cold outside, they didn't go on until 10:15PM on a Sunday night, but it was totally worth it. They've become my favorite thing of 2009.

Why are The Horrors so effing fantastic?





A) They're so damn serious. Not in a cringey earnest way like White Lies, but in the way that means they're all business. No, they're not going to break that fourth wall, they're here to put on a show and by George you're going to get one.

B) There's a Horror for everyone. There's the Bowie-esque one, the Kraftwerk/ Gary Numan looking one, the sixties bowl cut one, the Bauhaus one...and the drummer.

C) They've put out the best album of 2009.

D) They're rumored to be on the new Gorillaz album.

E) Their t-shirt has sucked me back into spending $$$ at the merch table.

bits and pieces: Damon news, Gorillaz news, and my favorite new album

*** Damon Albarn is part of a coalition of artists who are calling for an end to tougher penalties for file sharers. It's a lovely altruistic move from Damon, and I read a quote somewhere where he said something like he didn't want to turn music sharing into a negative. Aww. This comes after the announcement that you Brits will be able to watch music videos on Youtube again. Group hug? [Guardian]

*** The internet is buzzing about the Horrors being on the new Gorillaz album "Plastic Beach". I already posted this, like back on July 5th. Still exciting as hell though! [Daily Star]

*** In an unusual turn of events, I've become completely obsessed with the new Arctic Monkeys album, "Humbug". Yeah, I know it's been out for a while and you've already read twenty reviews of the album...But it's a change of heart for me. I had a fondness for their previous albums, but I think I had a slight aversion to them due to their youth (yeah ageism), their name, and the fact that I thought all their songs sounded the same.
"Humbug" is brilliant though. I think "Cornerstone" might be one of the prettiest songs I've heard in a while, a real Ray Davies piece of work.

Upcoming Shows

Well, it seems that the Chicago live music scene hasn't totally dried up after all.
Here's some upcoming concerts I'm excited about:

Grizzly Bear/ Beach House at the Metro. September 27th, 7pm.

The Horrors at The Double Door. October 11th, 9pm.

Dead Man's Bones at Schubas. October 21st, 10pm.

Mercury prize nominees announced

The nominees for the 2009 Mercury Music Prize were announced today. If you remember, last year's prize went to Elbow. A long overdue bit of recognition for a wonderful band.

This years nominees are heavy on the ladies (Bat For Lashes, Florence And The Machine, La Roux, Lisa Hannigan, etc.), but I'm really pulling for The Horrors. Primary Colours is still the best album of 2009 so far.

The full list:

Bat For Lashes – 'Two Suns'
Florence And The Machine – 'Lungs'
Friendly Fires – 'Friendly Fires'
Glasvegas – 'Glasvegas'
The Horrors – 'Primary Colours'
La Roux – 'La Roux'
Led Bib – 'Sensible Shoes'
The Invisible - 'The Invisible'
Lisa Hannigan – 'Sea Sew'
Kasabian – 'West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum'
Speech Debelle – 'Speech Therapy'
Sweet Billy Pilgrim – 'Twice Born Men'

Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize
Via NME.

The Horrors to be on new Gorillaz album

Crazy, brilliant news via Gorillaz_Unofficial on Livejournal. Victorian Horror favorites, The Horrors, have recorded a track with Damon for Plastic Beach (the tentative title for 2010's new Gorillaz album).
Yes, that popping sound was my brain exploding!

The Horrors make the announcement themselves in this video:


[youtube]

It Felt Like A Kiss preview, and The Horrors podcast in the Guardian's culture section

Guardian.com has the goods today. First up is the preview for Punchdrunk's It Felt Like A Kiss.
The 'walk of enchantment' through America's influence on the world features music composed by Damon Albarn for the Kronos Quartet, and videos by Adam Curtis.
Watch the video here.

Next up, the Guardian's music podcast, The Music Weekly, features an interview with The Horrors.

[Guardian.com]

The Horrors to tour America later this year.

This time they're headlining! I just saw them open for The Kills and they were amazing. It's all in support of their wonderful album Primary Colours. [link] via rockonthestreets.com

The Horrors @ The Metro: Part Two

So I've slept on it and yes, I still agree that the show was amazing. They abandoned everything from Strange House, playing only songs from their new album Primary Colours. While I don't think their first album is a write off, it really doesn't have anything on Primary Colours, so I think it was a good move on their part.

The songs were a little looser than the recorded versions, which is not to say they lacked technical polish. In fact, it seemed a conscious effort to veer slightly closer to their earlier garage band incarnation, and is probably the only logical way these songs could be performed by The Horrors' dueling personalities.

I've heard some say that they are ripping off Interpol, but give them some credit, at least say they're ripping off Joy Division. That's just one of their influences though, much like the Britpop bands of the mid nineties merged music from the 60's, 70's, and 80's into a new sound, The Horrors are merging sounds from the late 70's, 80's and 90's. You can hear Can, Kraftwerk, and New Order on the more electronic side, and Bauhaus, Echo And The Bunnymen, and even a strong My Bloody Valentine presence pooling all that post-punk has to offer.

I suspect that The Horrors have a great future ahead of them, and maybe in a few years Strange House will be one of those re-examined first albums of a great band. However, I think Primary Colours will be remembered as their true starting point.
All the good ones wait 'til the second album to show their stripes...they're joining the likes of Radiohead, The Clash, and Blur on that point.

I was more excited than I usually am to see this show, a level of excitement I usually only get to experience before seeing bands I've loved for years. I've literally had all the songs from Primary Colours as the "screen saver" in my head. If I'm daydreaming, the soundtrack is The Horrors. They didn't disappoint, in fact they reinforced my new found obsession with everything they're up to.

Here's a video mash up of some of the show...taken in true Victorian Horror crumbly quality:

The Horrors @ The Metro, 5/9/09

I should be getting to bed right now, but here's the first of my offerings from The Horrors' show. Some photos and of course a crumbly video. I got the end of Sea Within A Sea...more videos, and my thoughts to come tomorrow. (It was amazing)








Sea Within A Sea

DiS talks to Tomethy Furse of The Horrors, listen to tracks.

Drowned In Sound has an in depth interview with Tomethy Furse of The Horrors today.
Listen to the new album tracks below...they're ace. I'm going to see them on Saturday, I'll be blogging the eff out of it!
Listen to the album tracks on their website.

The Horrors: A Sea Within A Sea @ Coachella

Yes! I just got my ticket to see The Horrors here in Chicago. You can find the info for the show by clicking on the link under the "Upcoming Shows" section on the sidebar. In celebration, the cool bleepy end bit of Sea Within A Sea, as performed last weekend at the Coachella music festival. Oh, and if you don't already know this from the gazillion previous posts I've done...Primary Colours is out May 5th on XL...or if you're lucky like me you'll find that some lovely record shop has put it out early.

The Horrors: Who Can Say

From Primary Colours, out May 5th on XL.

record store day treasures

Here's my admittedly small (I'm on a tight budget) record store day haul:

Marvellous Boy: Calypso From West Africa. I found this new Honest Jon's release which was really exciting! It's the West African version of the "London Is The Place For Me" series they brought out last year. I loved, loved, loved, those. My coworkers still sing Lord Kitchener songs, and the awesome "Chicken And Rice" by Young Tiger. Calypso (or highlife) is seriously the best work music. You can't be sluggish when you listen to it. This one's sounding just as good so far...and there's someone called Roy Chicago on it!




The Horrors: Primary Colours. I got a hard copy of this album because I'm definitely becoming addicted to it. It's such a leap from their first album, which was good, but Primary Colours is really more listenable, not so harsh. There's such a mish-mash of influences on this. It's as if everything good that came out of Britain in the 80's and 90's had a presence. At times the music sounds a bit like the Stone Roses, at others more like Echo and the Bunnymen or Bauhaus. Faris Badwan sounds like Ian Curtis, but seems to have progressed a bit since the first album on a few of the tracks...into actual singing!
I love this so much! I'm going to see them open for The Kills in May.

I went to Laurie's Planet of Sound here in Chicago. It was absolutely packed. Hopefully you got some great music today too at your local record shop.

The Horrors- Sea Within A Sea

The Horrors' new album Primary Colours comes out May 4th on XL recordings. Apparently there's a secret Damon Albarn cameo on it. Get a free download of this song on their website.
I'm really liking it.