Megan is back with a scathing account of the 80s and queries about band “gimmicks” on the path to success. Also, she still wishes she were a DJ. She doesn’t come right out and say it, but…c’mon. DJing is way sweeter than med school.
From: Megan Bowers
To: Brandon Hall
Do I really need to go over all the reasons the 80s were bad?
Reagan, Crack, Cocaine, Deurbanization, Mass Outsourcing, Flock of Seagulls, Just Say No to Drugs, Systemic Disenfranchisement of the Working Class, the first Bush, Milli Vanilli, “Whatchoo talkin’ about Willis?,” Dirty Dancing, Cocktail, Tom Cruise…
The goddamned list goes on. That said, I do not hate everything from the 80s. It’s a full freaking 10 years; how can you hate 100% of 10 full years? (Though, I’m not too fond of the aughts, I must say.)
And on Skying, I think I’m with you. It is often everything the 80s should have been – power driven pop music without an infuriating reliance on a synthesizer. You’re absolutely spot on about The Horrors being able to pack The Haçienda. “I Can See Through You,” “Dive In,” and “Endless Blue” are all songs I wouldn’t have hesitated to work into my sets DJing in Detroit. With honorary mention to “Changing the Rain,” “You Said” and “Moving Further Away.”
You asked if I could have seen this coming, and honestly, yes, I did, but only because their sophomore album Primary Colours had already been such a surprise. Aside from a couple songs here and there, Primary Colours abandoned the goth-punk aesthetic they had worked so hard to cultivate on their first album, Strange House. Frontman, Faris Badwin, opened up his songwriting to a more British style and affectation, allowed space for his melodies to develop and soften, and they did away with their campy goth names. Primary Colours was kind of a shock. Skying is only a continuation of the direction they started on their last album. And, man, it really is impressive. The production value is insanely high; it’s lush and enveloping unlike either of their preceding albums. Every song, fast or slow, fills a room, bass lines and horns liquidated and flooding the world while Badwin and his guitars speed through on a suped-up motorboat to “Fuck Yeah!”
What I’m most curious about, however, is the whole idea of “the gimmick.” They’re named The Horrors, their first album was all goth-punk, but after its modicum of success, they abandoned the sound and embraced Britpop. So, like, why? Because they’re kind of stuck with the name, now, even if it doesn’t totally fit anymore. I wonder if the music on Strange House was really the kind of music they were making on their own or if they were pushed in that direction. Jack White, when describing the red, white, and black pseudo-sibling gimmick of the White Stripes remarked that it was the only way he could figure to entice people to listen to a two person band playing folk/country rock music. They needed something to make them weird. But, then, from that perspective, the gimmick was made to mask or enhance their musical choices. In the case of The Horrors, it seems like they set out to be one thing, then changed their mind. Their music changed right along with their schtick.
Maybe there was no other way for them to stand out from the masses. I don’t know their history, really, and I’m curious to find out what the hell happened. And I wouldn’t be disappointed at all if the answer was just that they decided to go in a different direction, because Skying is great. I like it infinitely more than Strange House. I just think it’s unfortunate they have to keep the name The Horrors. I think it’s kind of a stupid name.
Better than Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, though. But then, what isn’t?
“I can see through you,”
Megan
AudioVole 
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