9/10

Being a fan of The Horrors must be one of the hardest things to be in music at the moment. Since their ferocious beginnings as a psychotic garage-rock outfit on their debut album 'Strange House' through the shoegaze ambience on 'Skying', The Horrors have looked to reinvent themselves on every single full-length they have put out to date. And that migration continues through their fifth studio album 'V', but it seems that this time, they may have finally broken through that experimental barrier.

Over the last few releases, The Horrors have stuck mainly to the soundscapes and a haunting demeanour, mostly for the critical-acclaim it brings. But 'V' has something quite remarkably different about it. Rather than fall back into old ways of simple yet powerful melodies, the band have stretched themselves out into new territory, most notably on the single 'Press Enter To Exit'. Taking themselves out of the experimental arena, and adopting a direction with more focus and purpose than we have ever heard from them before.

It seems that 'V' is so much more than just another trippy Horrors release. It shows a more succinct outfit than we have heard from them before, a group finally satisfied in their own skin and making wonderful music in the process. We are not pinning our hopes on this being the band's final form, but it is the closest to perfection we have seen from them thus far.