Shazamers' Blog

Back in 2007 few would have predicted that this group of gothic upstarts from Southend would evolve to become one of the U.K’s finest mainstream indie acts. Debut album ‘Strange House’s niche garage sound and self conscious styling was almost completely eradicated by their second L.P ‘Primary Colours’. Produced by Geoff Barrow (Portishead) and  Chris Cunningham and released on XL Recordings,  the record manages to mix  post-punk, new wave  and krautrock seamlessly to create a coherent album with great pop sensibility, the stand out track being the album’s closer ‘Sea Within A Sea’ .

‘Still Life’ is a continuation of the sound The Horrors forged on ‘Primary Colours’. The debut single from third album ‘Skying ‘ (2011) was recorded at the bands self-built London studio and also produced by the band. Over a steady groove, layers of backwards guitar steadily build to a crescendo of brass, with singer Faris Badwan repeating the anthemic chorus line “When you wake up, you will find me”. The single is certainly reminiscent of 80’s bands such as Simple Minds, Echo & The Bunnymen and Ultravox, it’s psychedelic feel is captured beautifully in Oliver Murray’s music video.

The single was named Zane Lowe’s ‘Hottest Record In The World’ in May and subsequently ‘Skying’ charted at number 5 in the U.K and number 18 in the U.S Billboard Rock Albums. Faris Badwan has had further success with side project Cat’s Eyes which saw him team up with Canadian soprano and multi instrumentalist  Rachel Zeffira and The Horrors have recently remixed Lady Gaga track ‘Bloody Mary’ for her current album ‘Born This Way – The Remix’.

Andy Becker Shazam's Tags Of 2011 The Horrors

Back in 2006, few people thought that novelty goth-punk rock outfit The Horrors would manage one album, never mind three. But four years on, one Mercury nomination and countless rave reviews later, and we’re approaching a Horrors long player hat trick. Their new album ‘Skying’ is released through XL on 11 July, and the self-produced album was recorded in the band’s own London studio. If lead single ‘Still Life’ is anything to go by, Faris, Joshua, Tom, Rhys and Joe have been spending less time listening to krautrock and being angry and more time listening to 80s synthpop and drinking cherryade. This is no bad thing – ‘Still Life’ is lovely, slowed down psychedelic new romantic pop for 2011. Have a listen, close your eyes, and let it wash over you.

The band have made the album available to stream through their website, one week before its release. Check it out on the embedded player below (may not be viewable on mobile).

Helia Tag Of The Day The Horrors

Last night rank outsider Speech Debelle scooped this year’s Mercury Music Prize which awards the best British album from the last 12 months. Opinion was largely divided in to three camps in the Shazam office on whether the winner would be Florence & The Machine, Friendly Fires or The Horrors. However one fairly vocal lone voice in the office continually insisted Speech Debelle would win, and who’d have thought it, her opinions were rightly vindicated.

Anyway, congratulations to Speech Debelle, as you can see from the below video, it’s not just her fans that were assured of her success…

Stephen Titmus News Florence And The Machine, Friendly Fires, Mercury Music Prize, Speech Debelle, The Horrors

As always around this time of the year, talk turns to who will be the likeliest contender for the 2009 Mercury Music Prize. After Elbow’s win last year capped off an amazing rise in the bands profile, talk of the fabled “Mercury Curse” has somewhat died down – Dizzee Rascal, Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand have all continued to release rapturously received albums after winning the prize in recent years.

This year sees the inclusion of several female artists who have all been subject to varying levels of hype in the past twelve months, from NME darlings La Roux and Florence and the Machine to blogosphere favourite Bat For Lashes. The list also sees the, somewhat surprising, inclusion of popular acts such as Glasvegas and Kasabian. The award is often criticised for ignoring populist tastes; a critique that simply cannot be aimed at this years shortlist.

As always there are cases for each candidate. Friendly Fires have shaken free their early Nu-Rave copyists tag and released a great collection of songs. The Horrors have made one of the most surprising albums of the year; surely the Shoegaze revival sounds of ‘Primary Colours’ deserves the accolade? Then again, the outsider can sometimes steal it. Will Sweet Billy Pilgrim surprise us all? The list is already causing debate around the Shazam music team. Who is your money on?

Bat For Lashes – ‘Two Suns’
Florence And The Machine – ‘Lungs’
Friendly Fires – ‘Friendly Fires’
Glasvegas – ‘Glasvegas’
The Horrors – ‘Primary Colours’
La Roux – ‘La Roux’
Led Bib – ‘Sensible Shoes’
The Invisible – ‘The Invisible’
Lisa Hannigan – ‘Sea Sew’
Kasabian – ‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’
Speech Debelle – ‘Speech Therapy’
Sweet Billy Pilgrim – ‘Twice Born Men’

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Jon Davies News Bat For Lashes, Florence And The Machine, Friendly Fires, Glasvegas, Kasabian, La Roux, Led Bib, Lisa Hannigan, Mercury Music Prize, Speech Debelle, Sweet Billy Pilgrim, The Horrors, The Invisible