The Horrors — Primary Colours

Primary Colours

XL/Beggars

Caitlin Hotchkiss (CHARTattack)

05/05/2009 1:52pm

Two years between a band's debut and sophomore albums may not be a long time, but when you're a former NME band of the moment, it's easy for people to forget — and even easier to judge — the second effort.

Such is the case with Primary Colours. Although their sound has definitely undergone what could be considered a natural progression — screaming young goth punk to bleaker, weary post-punk — it's hard not to check the song information to make sure that this is, in fact, the same band.

Singer Faris Badwan isn't busting a lung this time around, and is instead layering his sepulchre groans under plenty of reverb. Only a few tracks, like "Three Decades" and "New Ice Age," come close to capturing the edgy black heart of their first album.

"Do You Remember" showcases The Horrors' newfound structure. "Scarlet Fields" is a good example of using patience and control to create an intensely creepy atmosphere. But "I Only Think Of You" takes this formula a little too far and results in a droning sleeper that's only spiced up by the occasional warped guitar tone. And it goes on for seven minutes.

First single "Sea Within A Sea," Primary Colours' grand opus, clocks in at almost eight minutes. It's probably the closest on the mark to classic Joy Division or Echo & The Bunnymen with random synth sounds, a complete melody/rhythm change right in the middle of the song and a general sense of freaky claustrophobia.

The Horrors of 2009 are a different beast, albeit no less of a dark one. Primary Colours won't make lovers of 2007's Strange House too happy, and it might just confuse their casual fans, but it ought to open them up to a new and hopefully wider audience.

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