The Horrors - Strange House

Genre rock Publisher Stolen Transmission External Links Official The Horrors Website Official The Horrors Website

The Horrors remind me of The Cramps - at least for its subject matter. But The Cramps had a much better sense of humor. The Cramps also put their horror rock to a more appealing garage/rockabilly beat. The Horrors, on the other hand, sound more like a b-horror movie soundtrack, and Strange House is its house of haunted sounds.

There are a lot of organ sounds mixed in with The Horror's creepy rock. Opener "jack The Ripper: sets itself apart with its Nick Cave-like vocal. The best song title is "Sheena Is a Parasite," even though this is not the shock-rock tribute to The Ramones its title suggests. Another good one is "Gil Sleeping" because it's a drum-driven instrumental.

Listening to this CD makes me wonder what the group is like live. That's because its sound suggests intriguing theatrical properties. It's been a while since we had any new Goth bands. Anybody remember the old Bat Cave movement? Goth may have been a little silly - okay, a lot silly - but at least it didn't take itself as seriously as whiney emo takes itself these days. Had this CD come out in, say, 1985, it might have been quickly overshadowed by The Cures and Siouxsies of the time. But today it's unique - well, at least temporarily.