The Horrors move from darkness to euphoria in ever-shifting sound

When bassist Rhys Webb says the band are turning up to Together the People a day before their Sunday slot to see some bands, then, you know the festival’s lineup is an attractive proposition.

“We’re recording a new album at the moment so we’re only playing a handful of festivals this year, ones we like the look of,” says Webb, who formed The Horrors with Faris Badwan (singer), Joshua Hayward (guitar), Tom Cowan (keys) and Joseph Spurgeon (drums) in Southend-onSea in 2005.

“We’re going to catch Brian Wilson on Saturday, and we’re looking forward to Suede on Sunday as we’re all big fans.”

2016 marks 10 years since the release of Strange House, The Horrors’ first gothic garage album.

The group were notable for their striking black-clad fashion choices as much as their visceral music and live performances, at a time when the bassist went under the moniker Rhys “Spider” Webb.

Towering frontman Badwan once smashed a ceramic bust of Elvis Presley at a gig in America.

“It was quite a punky time, really,” is Webb’s verdict. Since then, each subsequent record has showcased markedly different styles – Primary Colours (2009) was a thunderous piece that hinged on Hayward’s wall-ofsound guitar feedback, while Skying (2011) and Luminous (2014) moved the band into more electronic territory and towards a sense of “euphoria,” as Webb words it.

Despite the diversity of The Horrors’ back catalogue, he says that these latter three albums “sit together like old friends” in the band’s live set.

“In recent releases we’ve been looking for that feeling of elevation,” he adds. “We all like electronic music that builds to some point of crescendo or explosion, or just some feeling of good time.”

This approach is in contrast to the “dark shadows” of Strange House, and, according to Webb, the path the band are looking to take for their new album.

Apparently about 80 per cent written, the record is mooted for late Spring next year and being produced by Paul Epworth, who has worked with Adele and Coldplay.

“The last album was about as euphoric as we’d ever been, and now we’re going to dive deep down into darkness again to see what happens,” says Webb with a selfaware laugh. “We’re all up for exploring a heavier sound again.”

The band have been working on ideas in small sub-groups before bringing them to the communal table, a method which Webb describes as a “different line of attack”

from their usual process.

A crucial moment in the progression of The Horrors was Sea Within a Sea, the first mammoth single from Primary Colours.

Having leant heavily on guitars for their punk-tinged music up to that point, listeners were surprised and thrilled to hear the introduction of a driving, repetitive synth line in the song, which builds to a crescendo.

Webb remembers thinking it was a “special moment” for him and his bandmates, who left the studio everyday during the recording of Primary Colours in a “fantastic mood”.

What’s more, Sea Within a Sea reached a few thoroughly unexpected demographics.

“I have a friend who uses it for her dance class,” says Webb. “There was also a teacher who got their class of eight-year-olds to paint whilst listening to it, whatever they were feeling.

“We got sent the results – it really is amazing abstract art, great washes of colour.”

Some Horrors fans are easier to spot, or at least they were back in the early days.

They’re not emulating the gothic get-ups of the band anymore, but Webb says that most have followed them throughout their musical journey.

“We always meet people around the world and recognise them from over the years. A lot of the people who enjoy our music have grown up with us, in a way – changed and evolved as we have.

“We’re fortunate to have that kind of relationship with our fan base.”

Together the People, Preston Park, Brighton, 3 & 4 September, more info at: www.togetherthepeople.co.uk