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**The Horrors - V ★★★★☆**

After spending the better part of two decades shape-shifting through genres like musical chameleons on a particularly potent cocktail of amphetamines and art school pretension, The Horrors finally delivered their magnum opus with 2017's "V." Yes, that's right – their fifth album is called "V." Sometimes the most obvious choice is the right one, and this Southend quintet has never been one to overthink their album titles when there's perfectly good sonic territory to explore instead.

To understand why "V" represents such a triumph, you need to appreciate just how far these guys have traveled from their humble beginnings as garage rock provocateurs. Remember 2007's "Strange House"? That delirious blast of punk primitivism and horror movie aesthetics seemed to suggest The Horrors were destined to be a novelty act, all hairspray and histrionics. But then something magical happened – they discovered synthesizers, krautrock, and the revolutionary concept that songs could last longer than two minutes without boring people to tears.

The transformation began with 2009's "Primary Colours," where they traded their Cramps obsession for a love affair with shoegaze and psychedelia. "Skying" (2011) pushed further into dreamier territory, while "Luminous" (2014) saw them flirting with electronic music and dance rhythms. Each album felt like a different band entirely, which should have been jarring but instead felt like watching master craftsmen learning new trades.

"V" represents the culmination of this evolutionary process – a perfect synthesis of everything they'd learned along the way. The album opens with "Hologram," a seven-minute epic that immediately establishes the band's newfound confidence in their expanded sonic palette. Faris Badwan's vocals have never sounded more assured, floating over layers of synthesizers that would make Kraftwerk weep with pride. It's followed by "Machine," which somehow manages to be both their most accessible song and their most experimental, marrying a killer pop hook to production techniques that sound beamed in from 2050.

The real revelation here is how seamlessly The Horrors blend their influences without ever sounding like mere pastiche. "Press Enter to Exit" channels the motorik pulse of Neu! through a filter of modern electronic music, while "Ghost" strips things back to an almost minimalist framework that somehow feels more powerful than their loudest moments. Producer Paul Epworth deserves significant credit for helping the band achieve this level of sonic sophistication – every element sits perfectly in the mix, creating a sense of space that allows each song to breathe.

"Something to Remember Me By" stands as perhaps their finest achievement, a gorgeous slice of melancholy that builds from whispered vocals and minimal electronics into something genuinely transcendent. It's the kind of song that makes you believe in the transformative power of music again, proof that The Horrors have evolved from art school provocateurs into genuine visionaries.

The album's second half maintains this high standard throughout. "Weighed Down" explores darker territory without falling into the trap of goth cliché, while "Gathering" closes the album with a sense of hard-won optimism that feels entirely earned. At 45 minutes, "V" never outstays its welcome – a lesson in restraint that many of their contemporaries could learn from.

What makes "V" so impressive is how it manages to sound both timeless and completely contemporary. The Horrors have always been students of music history, but here they've finally learned how to be teachers as well. This is an album that sounds like the future while honoring the past, a trick that very few bands manage to pull off convincingly.

In the years since its release, "V" has rightfully been recognized as a masterpiece of modern alternative rock. It's an album that rewards repeated listening, revealing new details with each encounter. The Horrors may have taken their time getting here, but "V" proves that some journeys are worth the wait. For a band that started out as apparent one-trick ponies, they've ended up creating something genuinely special – an album that stands as both their creative peak and a blueprint for how bands can successfully reinvent themselves without losing their essential identity.