Two years ago, it would have been impossible to imagine a band like Small Black opening for The Horrors. As Small Black took the stage to a relatively small crowd at the Paradise last week, it was easy to see why they had been grouped within the chillwave genre since the release of their 2010 debut New Chain.
While lacking a guitarist, the indie outfit from Brooklyn was heavy on the keyboards and synths, but left plenty of room for the rumbling bass and thunderous drums to add a jolt to their performance. Lead singer Ryan Hener’s voice settled somewhere above a croon, where his smooth vocals melded into the delicately hazy sounds to create a dreamy ambience.
Unhindered by their bulky synths, Small Black still managed to take control of the stage as best as they could, dancing along to their Cut Copy-influenced beats. The lush “Photojournalist” deserved an elated crowd dancing along to its booming rhythm, but the band remained unfazed despite the small and reserved crowd.
In contrast, early Horrors’ performances were notorious for their gritty, punk shows that got them banned from Allston’s Great Scott. When The Horrors crashed onto the UK charts with their frenzied, noise-heavy Strange House, many critics dismissed them as overhyped artists with rebellious antics. Since then, The Horrors have ditched the goth-punk aesthetic and have proven to be constantly reinventing themselves from album to album.
Their most recent effort, 2011’s Skying, saw a more experimental approach both sonically and lyrically. The challenge was whether their Skying’s relatively subdued sound and ambience would translate into a live atmosphere.
From the first note, however, it was evident there would be no worries about the show falling flat as guitarist Joshua Hayward ripped into “Changing the Rain,” thrashing around the stage without missing a note.
During the length of their 10-song set, the band injected raw energy into every song, transforming even the somber 8-minute “Sea Within a Sea” into a stunning and unrelenting rendition.
In “I Can See Through You,” the band delivered some spiraling synths backed by a booming bass line and heavy guitar distortion as singer Faris Badwan sneered “To me you’re just see through/ No one remembers your name/ No one tries.”
Although the hour-long set had no tracks off Strange House, the main highlight of the show came from the main set closer “Moving Further Away.” The song was extended to a 10-minute cathartic experience with Badwan and Hayward using their respective mic and guitar against the amps to create a layer of feedback that reverberated throughout the Paradise.
Although The Horrors can fill arenas in the UK, they played to a less than sold out crowd— but their phenomenal performance is an indication that their evolution has just begun.
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