The bright young things in England's The Horrors burst out of the crypt in 2006, armed with a capeful of garage bleakness that was like the Cramos-via-the-Mighty-Caesars, unfeasibly frightwigged hair, and confrontational performance antics that saw a New York CMJ show end with a rumble. They gained a pretty rabid fanbase on the basis of early singles like “Death in the Chapel” and “Sheena Is a Parasite,” constant live work, a Chris Cunningham–directed video, and a serious commitment to their haphazard art. Their first album, Strange House, had some neat-o tunes, but the sound wasn't up to the yowling immediacy of live recordings and demos that had surfaced earlier. The tunes were pretty sharp, though. After all the promotional work for Strange House ended, they disappeared for a while. And more importantly, evolved. Ain't that something?

One forgets, as The Horrors have so many timeless reference points and influences, how young they really are. And as they get older and take in more art and more exotic music, the blueprints are going change. But, man, I expected more conservative incremental change, not the huuuuuuge stylistic leap that Primary Colours is. This album, which released this month, is a statement of intent, of change or die, of commitment to creativity. I'm just saying that it's a little impressive when a band goes from championing Nuggets-as-goth to sounding like a gleaming, electric mainline towards the metronome heart of Can, Harmonia, and Neu. Two-minute tracks stretch out mantrically into nearly seven-minute kraut-drone masterpieces. Primary Colours effortlessly merges the majesty of early Ride and Loveless (My Bloody Valentine) with Can's unerring straight line and the Birthday Party's pathos.

Seeing them live made the aesthetic transition seem a lot less jarring as they tore into the red-meat heart of the songs (especially "Primary Colors" and "I Can't Control Myself"—like a severely opiated Cramps) and stomped around in the red spray with a wild, childlike abandon that would match erstwhile idols like the Sonics or the Count Five. And that crazy effects board? And those ancient keyboards? Zounds! Skinny, black-clad boys ill-tempered but wide-eyed, weaving webs of pure phase sound. Take a listen: