The Horrors: The Horrors EP

The Horrors formula is ridiculously simple: they’re simply a modern update of the weird “96 Tears” crooners ? & the Mysterians. A little bit of guitar, a lot of Hammond organ, and you’re set. The fun spirit of the original band remains, and the screeched chanting of the title words in the ’50s-rock styled “Jack the Ripper” is just some strange guys having a ball in a studio. The riffing on the not-of-this-decade opener “Death at the Chapel” is furious, outrageous, but gloriously dated. Yet the highlight remains the paranoid, fantastic 100 second burst of insanity that’s known as “Sheena is a Parasite”. The fact that the Chris Cunningham-directed Samantha Morton-starring horror movie of a music video for it is top notch just happens to be icing on the cake. These guys have a definitive style, a huge sense of attitude, and enough artistic integrity to cull from for a while to come. They may not be your typical Next Big Thing in music, but they’re pretty damn close.