Review: The Horrors at Rosemount Hotel
The Horrors at Rosemount Hotel
w/ Streets of Separation
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
It’s a while between drinks for The Horrors. Returning to Perth for the first time in more than a decade, with their first album in nearly a decade, they’re still a vibrant live proposition for a bunch of skinny goths.
It doesn’t hurt that their back catalogue is better than you remember. Whilst there were only two tracks from fan favourite 2011 album Skying, and they skipped both Luminous and Strange House completely, there were enough genuinely electrifying classics to comfortably fill 90 minutes.
Most of these came from 2009 classic Primary Colours, and from the blistering post-punk of Three Decades and Mirror’s Image at the top of the set onwards, it was clear these fan favourites were also the band’s faves.
It was only six tracks in that the mighty Sea Within a Sea dropped in its near 10-minute glory, a shimmering highlight given a new twist in a bass guitar-heavy outro care of Rhys Webb. One of only two original members remaining alongside singer Faris Badwan, Webb’s distorted rhythms eventually made way for the synth finale originally orchestrated by Portishead’s Geoff Barrow on the original, these days performed by Scottish keys player Millie Kid (of Ninth Wave fame).
With a noticeable electronic influence on the new songs, highlighted by Depeche Mode-esque opener The Silence That Remains and the beatific Lotus Eaters in the encore, at times they sounded like two different bands. But evolution looks good on the current iteration, and, in fact, the newer tracks suffered more when they returned to the post-punk revival of old, such as overly polished recent single LA Runaway.
The set peaked in all the right places, with a pair of Skying classics in Endless Blue and Still Life holding up the mid-section before Badwan stripped down to a très cool muscle shirt brandished “Skynet” in a nod to both his appreciation of the fashion world and dystopian lyrics.
Badwan is the kind of stylish old-school rock star who looks like he still choreographs his moves in the mirror, and he was an energetic presence throughout the night, which made up for a lack of crowd interaction. In fact, the whole band looked like models, aloof and a too cool by half, with the new members all very young and good-looking (but also excellent musicians).
A raging Who Can Say closed the main set before the encore featured one last Primary Colours standout, with Scarlet Fields making way for the eventual finale, Something to Remember Me By. The latter especially exceeded its studio counterpart in a memorable and decidedly epic conclusion and signed off on quite the comeback for The Horrors, who look in good nick heading into phase two.
And while there may not have been anything from Horrors’ incendiary, Birthday Party-aping debut album Strange House, at least we had local goth-punks Streets of Separation opening the night. A three-piece with individual members offering plenty of unique presence and talents across songs as short and nasty as their 25-minute set, Streets of Separation rotated vocals atop hardcore, post-punk, bass noise and occasionally grunge vibes such as the riot grrrl rock of Whore. A perfect way to open a great Wednesday out.
HARVEY RAE
Photos by Linda Dunjey
