Best of 2007 | Real Horrorshow: NG Magazine reviews The Horrors

2007-12-18 17:40:58

Bringing a nice touch of loud gothic garage punk to Nottingham’s Rescue Rooms, The Horrors proceed to tear up the stage with an incendiary live performance that lasts an astonishing half-hour. Not bad going for a band whose sets normally average out at about 15 minutes.
    
But it’s not the length of the set that matters with The Horrors; it’s the quality of the performance and tonight is top-notch. Kicking off proceedings with their slow, grinding version of Screaming Lord Sutch’s Jack the Ripper, they twitch and glare at the crowd with a steely menace that is sustained throughout the show. Keyboardist Spider Webb throws off his cape and struts his zombie-dance moves superbly as they launch into the ultra-high energy of Count in Fives, definitely the best single to date. They follow with the spasmodic Gloves, the genre-defining Sheena is a Parasite and the gloriously intense Little Victories.
   
Some people, idiots mostly, tend to look at The Horrors and write them off as ‘freaks’ obsessed with their image, make-up, Tigi hair products (come on, what else is going to get your hair that big?) and monochrome clothing. But really, their endless parade of quality material evokes the grime of The Stooges, the charisma of The Cramps and the passion of The Ramones.
    
Their Strange House debut (see what they did there?) proves without doubt that The Horrors are most definitely not a case of style over substance. They have both style and substance. And frontman Faris Rotter has all the makings of a rock God in waiting.
   
The eerie Rotter wreaks havoc around the venue. An utterly compelling and almost hypnotic figure, his emaciated frame throws shapes around the stage that wouldn’t be too far out of place in a Hideo Nakata flick. He variously ends up on the other side of the room, standing on the bar, submerged in the crowd and virtually has to be fished out by a roadie who uses the end of the mic wire to reel in his catch of the day.
    
And catch he is. Beneath that offensively big hair, he’s a pretty striking chap. Eternal darkness has never been so attractive.
   
The fact that they were only onstage for a meagre thirty minutes says it all about The Horrors. Live fast, die even faster. In fact, die now. You know you want to.
    
Your Favourite Worst Nightmare: Michelle Dhillon
    
Bad Exposure: Jo Astbury
    
*****NG Magazine's Best of 2007 series - go to the Blog to find out more*****
    

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