The Horrors

Recorded over 15 months in the band’s east London studio-laboratory-bunker with co-producer Craig Silvey (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arcade Fire, The National), Luminous (out May 6 on XL Recordings) is the follow-up to The Horrors' 2007 debut Strange House, the Mercury-nominated Primary Colours (2009), and the critically-acclaimed Skying (2011), a record that entered the UK charts at number five, featured prominently in the end-of-year magazine/newspaper polls, and was anointed NME's Album Of The Year.

Luminous' first single “I See You,” received its first broadcast in February on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic. The seven-and-half-minute synth anthem was unveiled live at The Fly Awards in London, where The Horrors were joined onstage by Thurston Moore and Stereogum exclaimed “the song is a pulsating jam that pushes eight minutes and sounds like the first Horrors song that could really fill a stadium.”  "So Now You Know," the second single from the album, brings fans one step further into the technicolour world of Luminous that awaits. A hazy backdrop of bubbling synths expand spectacularly into an otherworldly widescreen affair, with the commanding vocals of Faris Badwan leading the way.

Tasking themselves with, as ever, moving onwards, The Horrors determined to make an album that was brighter, more positive, more electronic. ‘We’ve refined our sound,” affirms lead singer Faris Badwan, “and in terms of songwriting it is the record I'm happiest with.” Or, in the words of bass player Rhys Webb, “it’s not so much about heavier guitars as a heavier potency… We want to make music you can dance to, music that elevates…” Luminous by name, luminous by nature: this is an album radiating light and energy. These songs are The Horrors writing at their instinctive, intuitive and accessible best.

Shedding some light on the intra-band, in-studio creative process, keyboard player Tom Cowan mentions a an ever-evolving playlist featuring “so much, the usual – Beatles, Sabbath, Kraftwerk also Eno, J Dilla, Metroplex/Trax Records…but as always psychedelic music from all over the world, soul, funk, dub…”  Further input came from producer Paul Epworth (Adele, Paul McCartney, Foster The People) on the track “Falling Star.” There was also a crucial role for a new piece of kit. Badwan reveals that Richard Russell, boss of their label XL, “had the pyramid synth from our “Changing The Rain” video built for us.” The Horrors are Faris Badwan (vocals), Joshua Third (guitarist), Tom Furse (keyboards, synthesizers), Rhys Webb (bass) and Joe Spurgeon (drums, percussion).