The Horrors – Luminous

On the 20th anniversary of Britpop it’s no exaggeration to say UK guitar music is at one of its lowest ebbs ever. The reliable churn of ‘buzz bands’ has dried up, replaced by a stampede of Adele soundalikes and gimmicky dance acts. With Arctic Monkeys having sensibly zoomed off to Los Angeles, a city where rock music still has a pulse, it can be argued The Horrors are the last truly great British rock group of their era. 
Initially somewhat of a novelty affair – their debut seemed designed to shock rather than endear – over their past two records, the Londoners have matured into an efficient psychedelic machine. On 2009’s Primary Colours, they splashed around in a fountain of Krautrock and shoegaze, and 2011’s Skying flirted, in a good way, with vintage arena pop, evoking Simple Minds and early U2.  
Three years on, singer Faris Badwan has described their fourth LP as “radiating light and energy.” That’s one way of putting it: opener ‘Chasing Shadows’ announces itself with a tempestuous clatter of reverb and swooping synths and from there on, the record appears determined to simultaneously draw you in and push you away. 
The best songs – the swooping ‘So Now You Know’ and Moroder-esque single ‘I See You’ – are among the most accomplished The Horrors have written, accessibility and mystery existing in careful equilibrium. Elsewhere, that old spikiness is somewhat diminished, so that tracks seem to flow smoothly into one another without leaving a distinct impression. It may prove to be a grower but right now it feels like Luminous would benefit from being rougher around the edges.