Leeds Festival 2009
Following the sweetness and light of Little Boots was the dark and somewhat petrifying Horrors. A strange greeting with bassist Spider stood alone, eying the audience with a cold stare before being joined by his bandmates. The gesture failed to endear themselves which was probably the point. Still, posturing aside their setlist provided interesting reading, consisting entirely of tracks from second album Primary Colours. Their opening even ran as an album runthrough with the My Bloody Valentine inspired dark and menacing hum of 'Mirror’s Image' armed with an eardrum blowing humdrum and Faris Badwan’s savage vocals. Indeed, the lead singer was on imperious form throughout, stood atop stage monitors like a harbinger of doom for 'Three Decades', characterised by a powerful, blinking lights display and persuasive, furious noise.
Hostile like a street brawl, 'I Can’t Control Myself' was impossible to turn away from with the stage swathed in blood red light even if the track itself fell victim to over-effects. Faris still spent the intermittent breaks staring at his audience, as if baying them to revolt. When they resist, 'New Ice Age' was unleashed, forcibly growing into a monstrous wall of noise with each band member contributing. The shock and awe left 'Who Can Say' as something of an apology with the track the closest that any of their repertoire can claim to be sentimental. If the suggestion of The Horrors sounding anything even daringly pop then the assertion that for a brief few moments the tent was transformed into an electrorave for the slow, brooding build of 'Sea Within A Sea' should not come as much surprise. Unlike their entrance, their departure was swift and with a curt goodbye they are gone.