The Horrors
Koko, London

IT WAS just over a decade ago that The Horrors exploded on the indie scene amid much claim of style over substance. 

If ever there was a band that would flash and then burn out you would have got good odds but, five albums on, they’re playing this sold-out show and they demonstrate how they've truly transformed over the last 10 years.

Opening with Hologram, the first track from recently released fifth album V, the room reverberates to a booming bass, elegiac keyboards and a thunderous beat as lead singer Faris Badwan emerges in the midst of an amazing light show and, over the next hour, we’re taken on a tour.

The garage punk of the early days is non-existent but stand-out tracks Who Can Say and Sea Within a Sea from Mercury Prize-nominated second album Primary Colours are met with welcoming recognition as the room grooves to the tuneful and somewhat psychedelic post-punk rock. 

The sound builds as the night progresses, as does the band’s confidence and command of the stage — they have the audience in their thrall. The light show is synchronised to the music and the crowd gets lost as the beat takes over and the groove builds.

Purveyors of shoe-gaze, stadium rock, post-punk, psychedelia and more, the band have always worn key influences on their sleeves. But the art has been in taking it to another level and that is what they accomplish.

As the set draws to a close to the chorus of Still Life and its call of “When you wake up you will find me,” the band vanish before returning for an encore with two more tracks from V, ending with Something to Remember Me By.

And the audience have just that. This is a band that's taken their music to another, unforgettable, level.