Music / Bierkeller
Review: The Horrors, Bierkeller
Southend-On-Sea’s The Horrors took to Bristol’s infamous Bierkeller for an enigmatic and intimate show of synth, smokescreen and skinny jeans. Touring the highly acclaimed fifth album entitled V, the five-piece packed out the space. Their shoegaze and post-punk sounds attracted a wide diversity of spectators; from fifty-somethings sporting Harringtons and Weller haircuts through to teenagers in Nirvana t-shirts.
It was both a crowd-pleasing set and one for the fans of the new album; a deeper plunge into their trancey-synth riffs and tight vocals from frontman Faris Badwan. The band emerged, dressed customarily all in black, silhouetted against the dramatic white back lighting. The whole set saw no audience interaction or communication from the band, but the heady, humid Bierkeller packed with avid fans allowed for an exciting atmosphere of euphoria.
is needed now More than ever
The audience roared as The Horrors opened with track Hologram from their current album, and by the time second song Machine erupted, the audience were fully involved. Favourites included Sea Within a Sea, a track from their 2009 album Primary Colours, in which The Horrors infinitely refined their sound from garage-goth-rock to the neo-psychedelia. Most favoured though was track Still Life, from third studio album Skying. Empty beer cups flew through the air as the crowd undulated and swelled with melodic ecstasy as we held up crowd surfers in the spirit of all things rock ‘n’ roll.
The encore consisted of two more tracks from V; Ghost, and finally Something to Remember Me By. The venue was jumping in the yellow wash of lights and beer dregs flung as the band played their last refrain. I think we all could have done with a few more decibels and sight-lines were poor for most attending. But with a setlist that circumvented anything from first album Strange House, the audience emerged dazed by both the lights and the music, catching their breath and ringing beer from their clothes, with Something to Remember Me By aptly ringing in their ears.
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