Official Site of the Editors
The Editors @ MySpace
The Inside Pulse:
Tom Smith – Vocals
Chris Urbanowicz- Guitars
Ed Lay – Drums
Russell Leetch – Bass Guitar
The Editors arrive on our fair soil with a great deal of buzz in their native England and with detractors lining up to throw stones from both sides of the fence. They’re too much like Band A or Band B. Few British artists cross the pond to great success, as no one can sneak up on America since technology allows listeners from around the world to hear an artist months, even years, before a stateside debut is released.
Along similar lines, foreboding rock albums rarely scratch the surface in terms of potential, as the sense of melancholy denies the artists the chance to venture towards the other extreme: joy. A favored few should even attempt such a stylistic approach (Radiohead, U2), but The Back Room finds the Editors doing the unfathomable: allowing the black cloud lingering in the room to swell and swirl as the strobe lights are set off. The light is visible at the end of the tunnel, allowing us to dance and linger in a sea awash of fear and hopeless optimism. Slipping under the radar can be beneficial when it allows you to make your music. The Editors shine by allowing the comparisons to shift more toward Ian Curtis’s famed Joy Division than to a “modern-day” Oasis.
The Back Room shows a band capable of concocting big, beautiful noise, allowing pulsing vibes and danceable grooves to hold you in your seat whilst the retro-rock lesson begins. Whether slamming through a revival-rock opener (“Lights”) or loosening the skinny ties for a jaunt down Interpol Lane (“Munich”) the Editors justify the buzz they’ve developed on the Indie rock scene since this album’s UK release last summer.
Positives:
If people aren’t expecting anything and you deliver a hit, you are a success. If you are miscast as another Oasis and don’t deliver their sound, you won’t succeed (i.e. Ocean Colour Scene, the Coral.) The Arctic Monkeys meteoric rise might have overshadowed the Editors, and yet, a remarkable thing happened because of it. The Editors’ brightest moments on this album occur when they try to not copy their heroes or contemporaries and discover their own unique chemistry.
No expectations + talent = surprisingly great rock album.
Negatives:
The early momentum of the album is lost on “Fall,” “All Sparks, and “Camera.” When a band starts with three pounding rock tunes, it kills the vibe when the next three songs are far…too…slow. That momentum isn’t regained until the second half of the album.
Cross-breed: Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen married with Interpol, the Doves, and the Stills.
Reason to buy:
You bought Siberia and prayed for the glory days of vinyl, remembering a time mentioning “Lips Like Sugar” brought smiles, not confusion.
