This past Monday, Sept. 12, the Horrors headlined the infamous Pomona venue, the Glass House. I’ve only heard bits from their latest LP, Skying that was just released last month. For a Monday, The Horrors brought in a cool and energetic crowd which was a bonus. In atmospheric rock form, the UK gents opened up with “Changing the Rain” off their new album. This was a nice mid-tempo track to get the crowd captivated in a euphoric sense. In the meantime, all the final minor sound adjustments were being made until it was all leveled. Soon after, “Who Can Say” from their sophomore effort Primary Colours blared through the speakers. The nice acoustic up-tempo break-beat with jabbing guitars carried into the pogo-ing crowd. Everyone was moving their bodies and really absorbing the Horrors.

“I Can See Through You,” a cool synth, guitar and drum marriage-rock treat emitted from the speakers and took everyone for a nice pleasant ride. With little break, it was followed by “Scarlet Fields” and with no change in lighting. It appeared they wanted a certain mood with no spot lights or white lights with just hues of reds and blues. I also soon realized they were playing an exchange of tracks from both Skying and Primary Colours. Unfortunately, the Horrors didn’t play any songs from their very raw and punk-driven debut, Strange House. A few other stand out tracks were “Dive in,” “Three Decades” (a favorite of mine), “Endless Blue” and “Sea Within A Sea” which was a nice builder that took you on a journey then dropped you back to “Still Life.” With all the pretty ladies in the crowd trying to give their best harmonies, “Still Life” was a nice sing-along that the crowd seemed to have favored. While listening, I couldn’t help but hear a similar vocal sound from early Simple Minds lead singer, Jim Kerr.

The Horrors closed up with a riveting encore with “Moving Further Away.” It was a very cool eight-and-a-half-minute track which moved you to another dimension. Considering these lads have been playing less than a decade together, they have evolved from their striking Strange House LP (60s influenced rock and post punk sound) to what can be their newfound, refined sound in Skying. However, don’t forget Primary Colours which was the bridge to Skying, and is also a must have. This band has the potential to keep evolving and possibly never staying static. Their music is evident of just that!

Check our our photos below of the Horrors! The photos were taken at their El Rey Theatre show which we also attended.

Words: Walter Burciaga

Photography: Matt Draper (photos taken from the Horrors’ El Rey Theatre show)

Click here for more photos of the Horrors at the El Rey Theatre!