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The UK's Editors made a name for themselves in 2006 with their
debut album The Back Room, consorting with aspects of pop punk,
glam rock, Britpop, and Goth wave. The band's third release, In
This Light And On This Evening, from Epic/Fader Records stays
with their tried and true formula and adds shavings of cinematic effects,
synth-textured projectiles, and dance beats that offer evidence of
the band's growth since their sophomore record, An End Has A Start.
Their sound is similar to Britain's Coldplay, only darker,
and compatible with their brethren Kasabian, but more long
lasting. The quartet, who came together in 2003 while studying music
technology at England's Stafford University, became a part of a burgeoning
group of artists who revived the "New Romantics" sound of
the '80s - like Adam Ant and Duran Duran. Though this
was probably not the Editors' intention, their sound has a romantic
glint that strikes with a synth-pop filament relatable to the New
Romantic period and the post-punk vibe of the late '70s with Joy
Division.
At the forefront is the bass register of lead vocalist/guitarist Tom
Smith which never seems to run dry. Beneath the brooding tremors
of Tom's vocals are the monastery-sized chord flusters and synth-textured
effects produced by guitarists Chris Urbanowicz and Smith.
Fortifying the inlay of swizzling vibrations and piercing trajectories
are the palpitating beats of bassist Russell Leech and drummer
Ed Lay. Some tracks have a sinister appearance including the
title track and "Like Treasure", garbed in echoey vocals
and the dark shadows of Goth wave's minor notes. The time-ticking
metronome of the rhythmic beats threading "The Boxer" are
blanketed in simmering synth-textured swells, and the cinematic projectiles
sprouting across "The Big Exit" activate a glam-rock alchemy
with the club vibed passages that are riddled in dance beats.
Some tracks have glittery cascades and electro-pop sizzles like "Papillon"
and "Bricks And Mortar" and the dark wave spiritual "Walk
The Fleet Road" which opens with a shower of Gregorian-tinged
chanting. The lyrics vary from being introspective to being reflective
like in "You Don't Know Love" as Smith bellows, "You
ran with the dead today / Through the cemeteries where ghosts still
play / The more you ran, love got further away / One look and I saw
inside / Every little thing you'd die to hide / You were the truth,
when you lied… You don't know love like you used to / You don't
feel love like you did before."
Editors are still prolific at making spellbinding electro-pop and
ambient inspired patterns with fluid ascents and falls that sound
just as fresh as they did on the band's debut album. They repeat
melodic riffs without sounding run-on or monotonous and plant sonic
trajectories in spots that enhance the mood of the music. The quartet
might be walking in a circle, but with each new record that circle
becomes bigger and bigger so no two albums sound the same. It's
more like the band is building from one record to the next.
-Susan Frances
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