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The Horrors: Strange House
So I know I generally talk about shitty screamo bands when I talk about my childhood, but I swear there were a few bastions of good taste somewhere in there. Now and then I remember the album Strange House by the Horrors and fall back in love with it. I think I found it shortly after it came out; there was a copy of Alt Press I got my hands on that had a very mall-gothy photo of them so I wanted to check it out. I think I was sold on the flippy hair and eyeliner, to be honest. Their music is anything but the typical mall goth/emo/whatever bullshit from 2007, so even my 12-year-old ears felt refreshed when I put it on for the first time. I guess it’s a very punk album, but I never considered it as such… I also thought My Chemical Romance was the hardest fucking band in the world, so you can’t trust my opinions.
For a while, The Horrors reigned supreme as my favorite band just from this one album. It was so unlike anything I’d heard or could find at the time. I pored over the lyrics but no matter what I never understood them; I think that’s partially what kept me coming back for more. I love how garage-y and frantic each track is. I almost didn’t need to understand the lyrics (I still tried though). Sometime in 2010-ish, the Horrors played at Cat’s Cradle on my birthday and I couldn’t have been more fucking excited. I’d spent years listening to Strange House at that point, and I needed to hear it live. I guess I vaguely knew the tour was for a new album, but I just thought I would hear more weird fuzzy music like their first album. I’ve never seen a band change genres so quickly and drastically, but I found out that night that the Horrors completely changed their sound. Even worse, they didn’t play a single song from Strange House, and I was absolutely devastated. What’s the musical equivalent of blue balls? That’s what happened to me; I went to the venue expecting to dance to songs I’ve loved for years and instead everyone stood around while boring shoegaze music blasted through the PA.
I’ve tried to listen to the Horrors’ albums after Strange House. I really have, but they don’t do it for me. Shoegaze as a genre doesn’t really do it for me, so it makes sense. At least they’ve kept up the strong aesthetics and attention to design throughout their career. The singer is an amazing visual artist and I haven’t let my distaste for shoegaze ruin that, at least! Check out Strange House and lament with me that we only got one album of this sound…