Skying is the third studio album by English rock band the Horrors, released on 11 July 2011 in the United Kingdom and on 9 August 2011 in the United States on XL Recordings.
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's BBC Radio 1 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, neo-psychedelia and shoegazing.
Reception
Skying received considerable attention from the music press before its release, following the overwhelming positive response to Primary Colours. Numerous music publications confirmed it would be their album of the month in upcoming issues including Mojo 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, 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 as "an intellectually collective five-piece, fully immersed in the confidence of their own astonishing abilities".
Hot Press said: "This is fundamentally a psych-rock 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".
The Skinny said that Skying recalls "the more glorious elements of Suede and Simple Minds, the sprawling synthesizers of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and the tunnel vision chasms of Neu!", calling it "an accomplished record showcasing the Horrors' eclecticism". Phoenix New Times 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 the "Top 50 albums of 2011" while Uncut placed the album at No. 6. Q placed it at 11. Skying won the Best Album prize at the 2012 NME Awards.
As of January 2012, UK sales stood at 65,000 copies according to The Guardian.
Track listing
Personnel The Horrors Faris Badwan – 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 +Chart performance for Skying Chart (2011) Peakposition
Certifications
Release history Region Date Distributing label Format CatalogAustralia8 July 2011XL2LP, CD, digital download2LP: XLLP539CD: XLCD539United Kingdom11 July 2011United States9 August 2011
References
Stereogum article on the music video for I Can See Through You Consequence of Sound article on the song's music video Fact article on the song's music video Exclaim.ca's article on the song's music video Article about song being played during Labour speech
External links
Irish Independent Article The Quietus Track By Track