The Horrors

It was bound to happen sooner or later — in these mashed-up, endlessly overhauled rock times, a really good band was destined to appear brandishing, with each new album, a fresh set of sonic duds. And that really good band is Southend's the Horrors, who have stylistically changed everything twice since arriving in 2007 with their gothic fairground psychobilly debut, Strange House. By the time 2009's Primary Colours was released, landing squarely on the Mercury Prize shortlist, livid early swirlers like "Gloves" and "Sheena Is a Parasite" had given way to the krautrock leanings of "Sea Within a Sea", an eight-minute epic well worth the exploration. Every inkling that the Horrors were far more than slaves to their record collection — that indeed, they were its masters — was confirmed, and reinforced by 2011's brilliant Skying, undersold by the brief but accurate summary that it draws on Simple Minds at their peak. Cue up "Still Life" and everything becomes clear.