''Skying'' is the third studio album by British band
The Horrors
The Horrors are an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea in 2005, consisting of lead vocalist Faris Badwan, guitarist Joshua Hayward, keyboardist and synthesizer player Tom Furse, bassist Rhys Webb, and drummer and percussionist Joe Spurg ...
. The album was released on 11 July 2011 in the UK and on 9 August 2011 in the USA on
XL Recordings
XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group.
Although only releasing an average of six album ...
.
Background and recording
Recorded by the group in their self-built London studio, it is the first album they produced themselves. Two months prior to its release, the song "Still Life" was premiered on
Zane Lowe
Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter.
After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
's
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
show, where it was played in its entirety and named as his "Hottest Record in the World". This was the first track to be released from the album and the first indicator to fans of the direction the album would take.
Style
The album's sound was noted as including elements of
post-punk revival
Post-punk revival (also known as garage rock revival,J. Stuessy and S. D. Lipscomb, ''Rock and roll: its History and Stylistic Development'' (London: Pearson Prentice Hall, 5th edn., 2006), , p. 451. new wave revival,. and new rock revolution) is ...
,
neo-psychedelia
Neo-psychedelia is a diverse genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the sounds of 1960s psychedelia, either updating or copying the approaches from that era. Originating in the 1970s, it has occasionally seen mainstream pop su ...
and
shoegazing
Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...
.
Reception
''Skying'' received considerable attention from the music press before its release, following the overwhelming positive response to ''
Primary Colours
A set of primary colors or primary colours (see spelling differences) consists of colorants or colored lights that can be mixed in varying amounts to produce a gamut of colors. This is the essential method used to create the perception of a bro ...
''. Numerous music publications confirmed it would be their album of the month in upcoming issues including ''
Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
* Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* MOJO HD, an American television network
* ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film
* ' ...
'' and ''
Q''. The single "Still Life" gained far more media exposure and mainstream radio airplay than previous releases, reaching the Radio 1 A list.
Reviewing the album for
BBC Music
BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network.
Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...
, Mike Diver wrote, "There's no fault to be found with ''Skying'' – truly, every song here hits its mark... From the most incongruous of beginnings, The Horrors have become national treasures in waiting, and now possess the ability to realise any ambitions". Likewise, ''
Clash'' ran the review as a lead album feature, with writer Joe Zadeh declaring
the Horrors
The Horrors are an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea in 2005, consisting of lead vocalist Faris Badwan, guitarist Joshua Hayward, keyboardist and synthesizer player Tom Furse, bassist Rhys Webb, and drummer and percussionist Joe Spurg ...
as "an intellectually collective five-piece, fully immersed in the confidence of their own astonishing abilities".
''
Hot Press
''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes.
History
''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who co ...
'' said: "This is fundamentally a
psych-rock
Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
record...From the cover – an ethereal sea/sky combo with lens flare at the periphery – to the vague, fuzzy song titles..., ''Skying'' is a very tripped-out kind of album, with echoes of the early '90s shoegaze brigade... However, the Horrors have the happy knack of always putting their own distinctive twist on familiar reference points".
''
Phoenix New Times
''Phoenix New Times'' is a free digital and print media company based in Phoenix, Arizona. ''New Times'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue ...
'' said, "''Skying'' finds the Horrors comfortable in the post-punk, touches-of-shoegaze groove that ''Colours'' established."
''Mojo'' placed the album at No. 2 on its list of "Top 50 albums of 2011" while ''
Uncut
Uncut may refer to:
* ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship
* ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997
* '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'' placed the album at No. 6.
Q placed it at 11. ''Skying'' won the Best Album prize at the 2012
NME Awards
The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding of ...
.
As of January 2012, UK sales stood at 65,000 copies according to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''.
Track listing
Personnel
The Horrors
*
Faris Badwan
Faris Adam Derar Badwan (born 21 September 1986) is an English musician, best known as the lead vocalist of the Horrors, and more recently as half of Cat's Eyes.
Early life
Born in Bexley, Kent on 21 September 1986 to a Palestinian father and ...
– vocals
* Joshua Third – guitar
* Tom Furse – keyboards
* Rhys Webb – bass guitar, keyboards
* Joe Spurgeon – drums
Additional personnel
*Derek Watkins, John Barclay, Mark Nightingale, Martin Owen, Richard Edwards, Richard Watkins – horns
(tracks 4 and 6)
Charts
Certifications
Release history
References
External links
*
Irish Independent ArticleThe Quietus Track By Track
{{Authority control
The Horrors albums
2011 albums
XL Recordings albums