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Feb 13, 2025 Web Exclusive By Alfie Verity

What is it that binds people so tightly to horror? While a good chunk of the general population opt to avoid the full-body exhilaration of scary movies and stories, some of us are magnetized towards it. In 2024, for instance, queer communities filled cinemas to watch the body-horror melodrama of Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance and the tense, crushing angst of Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow. There’s the element of colorful camp that horror films exhibit, which is of course a draw, but what of the actual text of the movies? Bartees Strange’s third album, Horror, posits an answer: for plenty of marginalized people, the world itself is a horror movie, and embracing gore and fear, taking ownership of it to defeat it, is as good a defense as any.

On Horror, Bartees Strange recounts stories of everyday life as a Black and queer person in America through a scheme of sounds inspired by the friction and claustrophobia of horror movies. The tender, smoky “Baltimore” features Strange looking for a place to call home, struggling to find comfort and calm anywhere (“LA’s got everything, except for people like mine / Chicago’s perfect, but do you want to grind?”), moonlit by dreamy guitars and delicate drumming, reminiscent of the opening scenes of a lonely thriller in a desolate rural American town. “Lovers,” on the other hand, is situated in the heart of the action: it has the animated pacing and tension of the best horror movies, reminiscent of the quiet nightmare of Longlegs or the cavernous dark of The Descent.

There’s certainly a feeling of power that radiates from Horror as a result. In grabbing a hold of fear with both hands, Bartees Strange sounds unshakeable, his singing affirmed and captivating. Some of that may be to do with his genuine charisma as a performer, but it does feel like this talent is certainly buoyed by the choice to turn towards horror, rather than away from it. As a result, Horror is a fascinating statement: an impetus to stand fearless in a world that tries to keep you scared. (www.barteesstrange.com)

Author rating: 9/10