Kitty Empire 

Luminous review – the Horrors’ shtick begins to lose its lustre

The Horrors attempt to build on 2011's Skying, but are hamstrung by the law of diminishing marginal returns, writes Kitty Empire
  
  


Having amped up their spiral-eyed psychedelia with 80s synths and the dance tropes on 2011's Skying, the Horrors attempt to go one higher with Luminous. Essentially Skying II, Luminous shifts slightly from the oceanics that characterised Skying to themes around perception and astronomy. There are songs such as I See You (seven minutes, begins as oscillation, ends as woozy crescendo), In and Out of Sight (five minutes, begins as analogue systems music, becomes indie-dance-pop) and Falling Star (hazy riff-pop, through and through). Fans of altered guitar states will find much to shimmer along to here, not least the gnarly Jealous Sun. But having traded in all their early attitude for non-stop blissed-out jamming, the Horrors' default mode – equable lassitude – is beginning to pall a touch.

 

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