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It was a hot January night when the Horrors visited Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory. Lovers of drainpipes, leather, and eye-skimming fringes were not deterred, however, sacrificing a comfortable body temperature to be dressed in a manner befitting of the occasion. I am, of course, talking about fans and band members alike.

2009 was the year for the Horrors, who emerged from a sea of premature indie [over]hype to receive critical acclaim for Primary Colours. The sophomore album was the focus of an intense gig – standing at little more than 60 minutes but satisfying a closely-gathered crowd of both diehard fans and casual, curious listeners.

The five-piece opened with a rousing rendition of Mirror’s Image, and continued to play all but one track from Primary Colours (including the intriguing and ponderous Scarlet Fields, which can’t escape comparison to Joy Division).

From the sleazy drawl of I Can’t Control Myself to the slow ballad I Only Think Of You, Faris Rotter proved to be a dynamic frontman. Brooding over the mic, he swayed back and forth like a man possessed, and there were no introductions or crowd banter as he and the band cranked out new tracks to keen ears. Bassist Rhys – œSpider’ Webb was fascinating to watch, wielding the guitar as if it had a life of its own and moving like an – œ80s throwback.

The band finished triumphantly with two back-to-back singles, Who Can Say and the eight-minute epic Sea Within A Sea, which sounded just as compelling live as it does on record. The slow burning build up of Sea was the perfect way to cap off a gig which illustrated the Horrors’ ability to carry off their impressive new sound in a live setting.

A riotous encore, however, comprised material solely from 2007’s garage punk album Strange House. It was evident from the crowd’s enthusiastic response that raucous tracks like Count in Fives, Sheena is a Parasite and Gloves continue to thrill. Despite the divergence in sound demonstrated across the main set and the encore, the British boys delivered a set as tight as the jeans they wear.