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| The Horrors | |
|---|---|
| Name | The Horrors |
| Origin | Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England |
| Genres | Garage rock, post-punk revival, shoegaze, gothic rock, neo-psychedelia, art rock |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | XL Recordings, Loog Records, Secretly Canadian, Matador Records |
| Associated acts | Electricity Club, Savages (band), The Vaccines, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, MGMT, Primal Scream, The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Siouxsie and the Banshees |
The Horrors are an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, notable for blending garage rock, post-punk, shoegaze, and neo-psychedelia influences. The group rose from the mid-2000s London scene and achieved critical attention with early singles and a debut that juxtaposed surf and garage aesthetics with gothic sensibilities. Across several albums they evolved toward expansive, textured soundscapes, collaborating with prominent producers and touring internationally with influential contemporary acts.
Formed by friends from Southend-on-Sea, the lineup coalesced amid the mid-2000s revival that involved bands such as The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Interpol, Arctic Monkeys and labels like Rough Trade Records. Early singles drew attention from journalists at NME, Pitchfork, The Guardian (UK newspaper), Rolling Stone and broadcasters including BBC Radio 1 and XFM. Their debut album's release followed tours supporting acts like The Charlatans (English band), The Rapture, Klaxons, The Kills and festival appearances at Glastonbury Festival, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Primavera Sound. Subsequent records saw collaborations with producers connected to Alan Moulder, Ross Robinson, Chris Cunningham-adjacent visual teams and mixing engineers with credits alongside Radiohead, Muse, Coldplay and Sigur Rós. Lineup stability enabled projects that intersected with labels including XL Recordings and tours with peers such as MGMT, Foals, The Horrors contemporaries and headline runs across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Their music synthesizes elements from bands like The Velvet Underground, The Doors, The Cure, Joy Division, Sonic Youth and The Smiths while referencing producers and artists such as Brian Eno, Phil Spector, Kevin Shields and Daniel Miller. Critics compared textures to My Bloody Valentine and atmospheres to Bauhaus and Siouxsie and the Banshees, with melodic threads recalling David Bowie, T. Rex, Roxy Music and Pink Floyd. Electronic and experimental inflections echo work by Kraftwerk, Can (band), Neu! and Cluster (band), while punk energy nods to The Ramones, The Stooges and The Clash. Later albums incorporate orchestral arrangements akin to projects by Ennio Morricone collaborators and art-pop sensibilities found in Talking Heads, Brian Wilson and Kate Bush.
Current members include singers and instrumentalists who have worked alongside engineers, session musicians and guest artists affiliated with John Leckie, Nigel Godrich, Flood (producer), Alan Moulder and orchestral arrangers who've collaborated with London Symphony Orchestra-adjacent projects. Touring and studio lineups have featured collaborations with members of Savages (band), The Vaccines, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Jesus and Mary Chain and session players with credits for Adele, Björk, Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Rocky. Past contributors intersect with artists from scenes around Southend-on-Sea, London, Brighton, Manchester and Glasgow.
Studio albums charting across the UK, US and Europe were released on labels including Loog Records, XL Recordings and Matador Records, and were promoted via singles covered by NME, Pitchfork, Stereogum, The FADER and Spin (magazine). Their catalogue includes records produced or mixed by figures linked to Alan Moulder, Ross Robinson, Nick Launay and mastering engineers with credits for Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and Radiohead. Releases were supported by remixes from artists associated with Hot Chip, Soulwax, The Chemical Brothers, Four Tet and The Prodigy. Albums and singles found placement in media overseen by companies like BBC Television, HBO, Netflix and Vivendi.
The band received early acclaim from publications such as NME, The Guardian (UK newspaper), The Independent, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Pitchfork Media for their fusion of gothic aesthetic with contemporary indie trends. They have been cited in retrospectives alongside My Bloody Valentine, The Cure, Joy Division and The Smiths for influencing a generation of post-punk and shoegaze revivalists. Academic and cultural commentators at institutions like Goldsmiths, University of London, University of Oxford and Royal College of Art have referenced their visual and sonic hybridity in studies of 21st-century British music and youth culture. Awards and nominations connected them to ceremonies hosted by BRIT Awards, NME Awards, Mercury Prize panels and critics associated with Mojo (magazine) and Uncut (magazine).
Major tours included headline runs and festival slots at events like Glastonbury Festival, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, SXSW, Lollapalooza, Primavera Sound, Roskilde Festival and Eurosonic Noorderslag. They supported and toured with artists such as The Killers, Interpol, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Editors (band), The Raconteurs, MGMT and Primal Scream. Live presentations often featured stage design and lighting teams experienced with productions for Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Radiohead and Muse, integrating visuals by directors associated with Chris Cunningham, Jonathan Glazer and multimedia collectives from Berlin and London.
Artwork, fashion and videos drew on gothic and glam traditions linked to figures like David Bowie, Brian Eno, Siouxsie Sioux, Marc Bolan and designers associated with Zandra Rhodes, Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. Collaborations with photographers and directors who have worked with Helmut Newton, Anton Corbijn, Tim Walker and Rankin (photographer) informed album sleeves and promotional imagery. Videos and stage visuals incorporated cinematic references to filmmakers and artists such as David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick, Dario Argento, Alejandro Jodorowsky and contemporary visual artists from Tate Modern, Serpentine Galleries and Royal Academy of Arts exhibitions.
Category:English rock music groups