The Horrors interview: New beginnings

Auspiciously, Night Life is arriving as the MySpace-era faves celebrate their 20th anniversary. "We're in such a fortunate place to be able to be making a record 20 years [into the band]," Webb exclaims. "I can't even put myself in that situation – like I don't understand it! To speak about other bands and think of us going for 20 years just doesn't make any sense to me."

A nocturnal Webb is Zooming from a crimson-red room in his North London basement flat, where he and the mercurial Badwan conceived Night Life. "We wrote 'round here," he says. "I was writing on my computer in my bedroom. Faris would come 'round and we'd just be here together, quite intensely."

The Horrors have always emitted an underground aura – Webb laughing that they are "very mysterious, yes." Yet today the "Essex boy" is gregarious, at one stage hastily charging a waning device.

The Horrors formed in Southend-On-Sea, the location of Webb's fabled Junk Club – their line-up completed by guitarist Joshua Hayward, bassist-cum-keyboardist Tom Furse and drummer Joseph Spurgeon.

Critics' darlings early, the quintet debuted in 2007 with Strange House, emerging as a noughties Bauhaus – combining garage, post-punk and goth. They rematerialized on XL Recordings with a Kosmische-tinged sophomore, Primary Colours – among its producers Portishead's Geoff Barrow. The album was nominated for 2009's Mercury Music Prize.

The dynamic band consolidated their profile with the neo-psychedelia Skying – and transformed Lady Gaga's Bloody Mary into a synthpop banger on Born This Way: The Remix.

Following the sanguine Luminous, The Horrors delivered 2017's adventurous V, guided by the Grammy-winner Paul Epworth, and received ecstatic reviews.

Post-tour commitments, The Horrors took an extended hiatus. "It actually wasn't intentional at all," Webb maintains. "We kind of regrouped to start working on our new album. [But] if I'm very honest, I don't feel like the mood was particularly enthusiastic in [the] camp at this point. It was quite slow starting."

Then the pandemic struck – a "boring" topic now, Webb sighs. Nevertheless, iso allowed The Horrors to contemplate fresh directions without pressure, the various members creating music individually at home.

In 2021 the band released two EPs of industrial rock, Lout and Against the Blade. "I felt like it was really time to shake things up a bit – which is one of the reasons that the EPs were quite heavy; just having fun, like refreshing our palate and just rocking out and making some noise, not taking it too seriously and just getting into a new headspace."

Meanwhile, Furse disengaged from the group, at least as a live performer. "Tom decided to take a step away 'cos he didn't really enjoy touring," Webb explains. "Unfortunately, what happened as a result of that is that he ended up kind of stepping away from the music to a certain extent."

Later, Spurgeon – who's married to Webb's sister, with an eight-year-old son – chose to focus on family. "The reality is being a musician, being in a band, is not a reliable form of job income or sustainability." There's no acrimony for either cohort. "As far as we're concerned, they're basically still in the band. They're just not playing right now. If they want to, they can."

The Horrors subsequently recruited two replacements: Amelia Kidd, from Scottish band The Ninth Wave, and Jordan Cook, Telegram's drummer.

Rejuvenated, The Horrors threw themselves into album six, Webb fancying the number. "Faris and I are like, 'Yes, we wanna do it and, if we're gonna do it, it has to be good 'cos it's been seven years.' So, we were really strong-minded on being raw and f-cking real. And I think we did get there – I love this album so much and Faris is the same. It's my favourite record we've made since Skying. The first three [albums] were really special – and I think this is in that world."

The Horrors have long DJed – Webb, aka Spider Webb, currently resident (and founder) of The Cave Club in Hackney. And the liminal Night Life catches them again revelling in electronic dance music – the band previously cutting a glistening deep house epic in Something to Remember Me By for V and commissioning album remixes from the likes of the Aussie HAAi (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oNIv0rw3PSM). Night Life's lead single, The Silence That Remains, is spectral rave with Kidd on backing vocals.

Undoubtedly, Webb knows his electronica, citing Daft Punk plus pioneers such as Sheffield's Cabaret Voltaire and the Detroit techno auteur Carl Craig. "I'm generally old school, but we like the new stuff, too," the bassist reveals. "In fact, to be honest, I'm more interested in electronic music half the time these days than I am guitars. I feel like 'guitar bands' is a bit of a tired concept these days."

The Horrors tracked Night Life in Los Angeles alongside producer Yves Rothman (whose credits include Banoffee) in his studio space at Hollywood's legendary Sunset Sound Recorders – Webb casually mentioning that Prince used to work there, even installing a basketball hoop. ("Imagine Prince playing basketball in high heels!")

An old Horrors fan, Rothman ironically suggested that the band recapture the grit of their formative output – dispensing with the programmed beats of any demos and aiming for Night Life to be ambient indie-dance.

"He's like, 'Do you know what? It should just be like proper Horrors – like classic Horrors drum sounds, classic Horrors guitar, classic Josh guitar…' It's the first time that we've ever really been self-referential, if that makes sense, but in a forward-thinking way. To me, it's kind of like a classic Horrors album of the future, in a weird way."

The contradictions of LA also seeped into the LP – the rhythmic finale LA Runaway simultaneously evoking US new wave acts like The Cars and conveying a "bleak feeling" away from the glamour. Webb recalls the band staying at an Airbnb on Melrose Avenue and walking 45 minutes to the studio daily. "The LA that we witnessed," he ponders, "it's the darker side – like the streets are dirty… It's quite sad."

Inherently risktakers, The Horrors aren't indulging in nostalgia. They're still looking ahead, rather than being reproductive. "I just wanted to really feel personally 100% satisfied – not worry about singles, not worry about choruses, not worry about hooks and topline melodies; just make genuine, honest, real music."

The goth-rockers initially toured Australia with 2007's Splendour in The Grass – they even hosted rage – and were last here for Laneway in 2012.

"It sounds crazy to me, but I remember it very fondly," Webb says. "We were lucky 'cos we got to do things like Big Day Out and Laneway. We played with Tame Impala when they just put out their first EP [2008's Tame Impala HITS 003], on the same stage, and we were playing that at the clubs we do – like Cave Club in London… So, we made friends with them."

The band have discussed returning for the summer festival season, having recently sold out winter UK dates. "We 100% will," Webb assures. "We missed it this time. So, I guess it probably will be this time next year, if we don't get out before. But there was a conversation about trying to get out there for '25. But, yes, 100% we are – we're going to be back!"