The Friday night outing in which The Horrors hit Bristol’s Strange Brew – well into the UK tour heralding the release of their much-awaited new album – felt like one of those gigs.
A band which has made history in the recent counterculture scene, coming to a stage that is likewise iconic for the local counterculture crowd, after a long period of relative silence, with new music, at the time of the year when the shadows loom darkest and in the kind of intimate setting where true gig magic happens: what better circumstance could be hoped for? It felt somewhat serendipitous, too, that it happened to be Friday the 13th (is there a better date to go see The Horrors?) and, as it turned out, that this gig was also somewhat of a birthday bash for guitarist Josh Hayward. All things being in the right place, this promised to be a truly memorable night.
It is very safe to say that the promise was fulfilled. In fact, the best way to describe the atmosphere of the gig overall is probably joyful; this felt like a celebration in more than one way. A celebration of the career of a band that has never stood still, that has kept innovating and experimenting and daring, producing a string of records each of which has a distinct personality while also speaking with a clear and recognisable shared voice, and which is now, all these years later, still moving forward, still blazing new trails and surprising fans old and new; but also a celebration of a community of people who have followed and loved this band through the years, who came down to an iconic venue to see these artists play up close – and with the low stage in Strange Brew, up close can really mean very close – and to share in the collective joy of a new upcoming record. “It is nice to be back,” frontman Faris Badwan told the audience towards the end; “we are not going anywhere”. A more welcome announcement could hardly be expected.
While the Horrors are well and truly back, they are also not quite the same. This is a new live line-up, shaking things up and adding something new even to the most familiar tracks; the addition of Amelia Kidd (elsewhere seen playing with The Ninth Wave as well as a solo act) is a particularly effective one, introducing a ripple of sound both ever-moving and ever precise that perfectly complements the band’s own complex harmonics. That songs this elaborate and almost, in places, orchestral can also feel so direct and effective – and, for lack of a better word, punchy – when played on stage is quite possibly the greatest achievement this band can boast of. Never fully losing sight of their New Wave-adjacent, goth roots – the bite in their stage presence remains unchanged – they have constantly and meticulously built up their sound, making it ever more intricate and detailed, stretching out the musical suggestions in their most ambitious tracks and adding layer upon layer, to the point that when played live some of these fan favourite read like some kind of unlikely – and mesmerising – ‘chamber goth-rock’. The effect is amplified by the small venue, another welcome return to the band’s roots: for all their well-deserved success, The Horrors are the kind of outfit that works best in a small space, where the distance from the audience is almost uncomfortably close and the feelings the band is tapping into come across all the more raw for it.
It is therefore unsurprising, with all this in mind, that the evening did not lack for emotional moments. A truly monumental rendition of ‘Sea Within A Sea’, at this point very much the band’s signature track and the most startling example of this almost-symphonic take on rock experimentation, cleverly placed around the setlist midpoint, felt almost like a transcendental experience, a moment of collective suspension where all seemed to float as the room was washed by the blue lights. ‘Machine’ – another personal favourite – felt deeper and darker and almost suffocating in places, which is exactly what it should feel like when played live. ‘Ghost’ swept the room with a delicate touch and drew the audience in through broad vocals and immersive instrumentals. And ‘Whiplash’ opened the night with a mighty punch, almost a proud declaration of intents: this band may be made up of seasoned professionals, but they have lost none of their intensity.
It was also great to get to hear a live rendition of the new songs, the studio versions of which had already proved deeply intriguing for their broad range. ‘Trial By Fire’, already thrumming with confrontation in the private confines of the recorded version, became a defiant, almost-snarled challenge when paired with the energy the band directed at the crowd from the stage. Almost on the opposite end of the spectrum, ‘The Silence That Remains’ felt intimate and wistful, a stripped-bare moment of collective connection. Yet for all this impressive display of range, the artistry, the quirks of composition, the earnestness of live delivery remain the same, and the same as they have always been from day one: the trademarks of a band that has proved capable of waiting a long time to deliver something worthwhile, but never capable of standing still, always searching for something different and authentic.
In our time of throwaway jingles and single-season popstars, there is something both defiant and reassuring in a band that not only shows this kind of longevity, but also this kind of sustained ambition, constantly finding new ways of innovating while never losing the precious thread of connection with their audience. Even after the triumphant encore (closing off, aptly, on the notes of ‘Something To Remember Me By’: and there is no doubt that this audience left the venue with something to remember) the lingering impression is not just that of a victory lap – although that was very much present, too – but a deeper sense of anticipation, a genuine excitement in wondering what these artists, who for many audience members have been, if not lifetime companions, a constant presence through a long period of life, are going to do next. Their music may have evolved through time, becoming in places as intricate and finely wrought as a scrap of black lace, but it has never lost that authentic desire to speak of real emotion through sound that made it memorable in the first place. It felt like a masterclass in live music, but delivered by a band that remains clearly far more interested in learning than in teaching.
A more than honourable mention must be also given to support act MP3 Chainsaw, who brought to the stage great chemistry, some very intriguing tunes, a hearty dose of humour, and an already-distinctive sound that felt almost cyberpunk (with an emphasis on punk) in places. If this taster is anything to go by, this is a band more than worth keeping an eye on. Altogether, their early set made for the icing on the cake of an otherwise near-perfect night of live music.
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