The Horrors – Night Life – Album Review
By Killian Laher

After a lengthy period of silence, the Horrors are now reemerging with their first album in 8 years, having lost a couple of members since 2017’s patchy V album.  Although there were a couple of EPs in the interim, this is very much a comeback.  Singer Faris Badwan is still present and correct, as are the band’s moody pop sensibilities.  This album is not a return to form, but a reminder of their strengths.  It opens all slow and brooding with Ariel, a track which builds gradually, adding pulsing percussion, building to something Depeche Mode, or even Trent Reznor would be proud of.  This influence is present on the wonderfully dark Silent Sister and the menacing-sounding The Silence That Remains and The Feeling Is Gone.

If it’s big anthems you’re here for, they’ve got those too.  Trial By Fire has an enormous chorus, Badwan singing “this is the TRIGGER, TRIGGER, TRIGGER, set me on fire!” over soaring guitar chords.  The seven-minute Lotus Eater aims straight for the dancefloor and is almost ‘rave-like’ in its execution with excellent vocals and melody.  It’s followed by doom-rocker More Than Life, with another massive-sounding chorus.  Three superb songs that on any album would be standouts.  You also get the shaky, shimmering ballad When The Rhythm Breaks, before the album finishes with arguably its most ‘pop’ moment LA Runaway, an almost throwback driving song.  The strong emphasis on 80s-style synths sees the track almost straying into War On Drugs territory.

It’s definitely an album worth waiting eight years for, and if there’s a better moody, post-punk album in 2025, that will be some achievement.  An early shout for indie album of the year?

Ariel