Hair today…
In the wise words of Vince Noir, “It’s all about the barnet!” Although, whether The Horrors are more than just a ‘hair’ band is up to one’s own cynical/experienced judgement. Either way, it cannot be disputed that The Horrors are the hottest thing to come out of London recently, aside from ‘pioneers’ of the Nu-Rave revolution. No glow sticks here, just snarling punk insouciance mixed with psychedelic, hypnotic keyboards and guitars, best described as The Doors knifing 80s Matchbox in a beat-up `60s surf shack.
On the cusp of fame, The Horrors have recently featured in uber, on-trend magazines I.D and Dazed and Confused. To add to such prestige, they are the only band to bring Chris Cunningham, director of Aphex Twin video fame, out of a long creative hibernation to create the video to their single ‘Sheena is a Parasite’.
Amidst charges of the band being just another fad band spat out of trendy Shoreditch, The Horrors are adamant that they don’t follow a band-by-numbers formula. Faris Rotter says, “We’re part of the London ‘scene’ in so much as we play on the circuit, with other bands from London. We don’t think we’re like anyone else around at the moment. There are bands that we feel close to, but not influence-wise, such as Good Shoes and Neil’s Children, 80s Matchbox’. They insist that they are not heavily reliant on ‘`influences’, but Spider Web explains, “we listen to a lot of sixties garage music and mo-town stuff, but mostly good old psychedelic music. That definitely come out in our music, but we take inspiration from all sources.”
A strong image can often be the making or the gimmick of a band. Spider Webb insists, “We just wear what we’re all into, what best reflects our music and will make an impact on stage.” Farris adds, “We wear monochrome and have big hair, but it just adds to who The Horrors are. We make music, but our image is important to us as well.”
This gang mentality is what so attracted horror-filth director Chris Cunningham, who took a shine to The Horrors from listening to their track on the ubiquitous Myspace. Working with Cunningham is of monumental importance to the band. Spider says, “We’ve always loved his videos and it was like a dream come true. We came back from Italy and went to Chris’ flat and just shot the video.”
The Horrors’ tour of Italy offered an interesting change to the regular UK student union tours that new bands must endure. When asked why they are so popular in Italy, Faris says, “Italian fans like us for the same reason as British ones. It’s the same music. There’s absolutely no cultural difference.”
More telling than the band’s interview answers is their behaviour. Faris is somewhat withdrawn and artistic, much different to his beastly onstage demeanour. He is the group’s lyricist and explains that he ‘`seeks and finds inspiration from anywhere and everywhere, especially old punk songs and horror.’` Faris’ return to his degree at St Martins College depends on the success of the band, but it looks as if nothing can slow down the Horrors. Tiring of discussing the band, he puts his artistic skills to use and begins to draw my friend and I. Coffin Joe denounces his band-mate by saying, ‘`Faris is always writing and drawing everything in his notebook,” to which Faris shoots him a betrayed look and goes outside for a fag, of course after checking the hair one last time.
The Horrors trademark is their notoriously short and fierce sets, lasting a mere 15 minutes. Unfortunately live, the intricate ’60s keyboard and synth effect is often lost, as the audience is blasted with Faris’ howling and intimidation. Pushing folk over by their head and screaming at them eye-to-eye is The Horrors’ own interpretation of audience participation. The band fiercely defend their short sets. Faris says, ‘`It’s not that we don’t have enough songs. When you see us, you’ll know that fifteen minutes is enough. We can’t pack anything more into our set and you won’t want us to.”
After such a successful start, what is next for The Horrors? Coffin Joe answers, “We’d love to play some festivals. We just played Tales of the Jackalope, which was amazing. Maybe play some European festivals and more touring. We love playing around the country and seeing how people respond to us, as the London gig circuit is a small world. We just want everyone to hear our music, and if that means appearing in cool fashion magazines then so be it.”
When asked what kind of questions they always get asked in interviews, Joshua von Grimm says “It’s always, ‘What’s with your hair?’ and Coffin Joe sighs, “What’s your favourite horror film?” to which I slink down into my seat. Noticing this, we all begin to chuckle about monotonous ‘”journo’ questions and Spider Webb graciously answers. “We have far too many horror films to go into, but we like the more psychological ones that aren’t as obvious.” Faris adds, “I like Hitchcock movies, especially the Birds.” Coffin Joe then enthusiastically begins to tell us all about the stack of horror B-movies he bought the other day in London, and it would seem that the most obvious questions are the ones they are most comfortable answering.`
Tonight, The Horrors are in Glasgow to play at club night White Heat. Faris says, ‘`We love playing club nights. It means that people who haven’t heard of us might come away liking us, and clubs usually bring a more diverse crowd. We’ve also played White Heat in London and we even ran it one night. We picked the bands ourselves and we DJ’d all night.” When asked about the clubs they go to in London, Spider says, “We sometimes go to Shoreditch and Camden, but most of the clubs in London can get a bit boring.’` Faris chips in by accusing Tomethy of “just going to the same shit psychedelic clubs all the time.”
After the ‘`official’ interview is over, the band relax and engage in banter and courteously asked if we enjoyed The Gossip, who played before the club. They paw the CD we bought and squirm over Beth Ditto’s unshaven armpits in disgust. The band are obviously wary of journalists and don’t want to be portrayed as mere scenesters. Tomethy begins to tell us about his acid experiences at psychedelic clubs, but adds. “I don’t really do that,” remembering that he is in the company of unscrupulous journalists. After a couple of illicit cigarettes in the Art School ‘`green room’, one of their entourage brings a bottle of Buckfast, which perplexes the London boys. After curious examination, they declare it “good stuff”. One point to Scotland!
- The Horrors - 4 October 2006