Gary Steel“THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY” – A SHORT SERIES OF 2014 ALBUM REVIEWS THAT NEVER SAW THE LIGHT OF DAY, FOR SOME REASON.
REVIEWS RARELY TALK about sound design, but Luminous makes the conversation necessary: instead of guitars and more guitars, this post-Britpop group hark back to a time-stretching, vertigo-inducing, lost-in-space sonic wallpaper of a group like My Bloody Valentine. This twinkling mind-warp might appeal to the heaving field of a muddy rock festival, or the inner iconography of an all-night clubbing experience.
But for all that, The Horrors make a kind of classic pop that’s as anchored in The Kinks as it is the post-punk era, and on to the lysergic Manchester rock of the Stone Roses. And the sound is well moored, too, in its fruity bass and those big disco drums.
It may not be the celebrated group’s best work, but its title is apt, and when Faris Badwan sings about standing at the edge of the world, the music sounds like it’s teetering on that edge itself. Not recommended for those prone to suffering acrophobia. GARY STEEL
Sound = 4.5/5
Music = 4/5
