The Horrors - Something to remember me by

If something has characterized The Horrors through their 10 years history, is the way that they channel cult bands from the 70's and 80's to new generations. It was clear from the moment that they nodded The Ramones in their first single ever, Sheena is a Parasite, that they wanted to revive the glory of contra-cultural movements like punk and goth, and blend them together to create a postmodern aesthetic of the outcast.

And they have changed their sound in several occasions, but they have never stopped referencing, in very obvious ways, emblematic bands from the past: The Cure, The Velvet Underground, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, Depeche Mode. Even if not every single one of their albums is as brilliant or as relevant as Primary Colours, their sophomore, they have managed to evolve their sound in meaningful and rich ways.

In Something to Remember Me By, we have the band at their most pop festive moment (well, think of what the words pop and festive could mean for a neo-goth, anyway), and they just created the perfect song to close their life sets now that their festival appearances are moving into more prominent times. After ten years, we really can't say that they are that obscure band that we discovered through alternative blogs, their fanbase is considerable and they could be very well be considered among the relevant surviving indie bands from last decade. And a song like Something to Remember Me By is claiming for that rightful spot that they've earned, a song that everyone will be singing along at the end of their shows (we don't see people doing that for Sea Within a Sea, no matter how perfect it is).

And of course, with this track we are immediately triggered to think of New Order, to that hazy party where people dance all night long, but there's a heavy melancholy floating in the atmosphere. The synths are upbeat and danceable, but there's the dark stylistic touches that add contrast and charge the beats with depth and even sadness. The repetition that most artists use to create a festive party that engages audiences because it will be easy to remember, here works to create some sort of claustrophobia, that echoes the obscure undertone of the lyrics, charged with heavy symbols: "Walking in a crowd and I leave you behindBack into the dark with the lions of night".

Something to Remember Me By is people who are consumed by despair trying to find a escape through music, a momentary relief that won't make things better, but that will make space for some hope in the mundane in between the fear and the confusion. But above all, it is done with perfect elegance, new-wave done right, a perfect connection between deep introspection, thoughtful structure and pop enjoyment.