If you like dressing in black and listening to dark music then The Editors, a band from Britain's second-biggest city, may be for you.
This month the Birmingham quartet release their second album, "An End Has A Start".....
The Editors, An End Has a Start
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They won't win any points for originality but the post-punk quartet are good enough for Alex Denney - and Edith Bowman[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Sunday May 20, 2007[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The Observer[/FONT]
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The second album from The Editors
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Dark: Birmingham's The Editors[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The Editors are:[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Tom Smith: Vocals, Rhythm Guitar[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Chris Urbanowicz: Guitar[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Russel Leetch: Guitar[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Ed Lay: Drums/Percussion[/FONT]
Getting through an Editors review without mentioning their influences is like trying to eat jam doughnuts without licking your lips - torture, but the doughnut is pretty tasty all the same.
For all the copycat accusations levelled at the Birmingham four-piece since their widescreen post-punk first met with success in 2005, songs such as 'Munich' and 'Blood' packed an anthemic punch few of their more angular peers could match. And as for the comparisons with NYC peers Interpol, Editors substituted the balls-out swagger of that outfit's crunching guitar sound with a grandstanding post-rock sensitivity all of their own. Besides, when was the last time a member of Interpol had a number two record while going out with Radio One's Edith Bowman?
Unfortunately it's not enough simply to swaddle yourself in layers of Edge-like reverb and declare yourself an epic. You've got to bring the tunes to back it up, and parts of An End Has a Start are all sound and fury, signifying nothing.
On the other hand, when the band do snap suddenly into focus, you really sit up and take notice - 'The Racing Rats' is a rattling, full-tilt delight, the Bunnymen-esque 'Escape the Nest' sounds choppy and propulsive, and the spare piano chords and skittering drums of 'When Anger Shows' make it the alt-rock cousin of Baby D's 'Let Me Be Your Fantasy'.
Epiphany by its very nature is a fleeting beast; by trying to force the moment too often Editors neglect the simple details that make your hairs really stand on end. But, for now at least, their tendency towards overwrought ambition fails to dim the slew of stellar moments that make An End ... a worthy successor to their star-making debut.
Track listing
guardian.co.uk
This month the Birmingham quartet release their second album, "An End Has A Start".....
The Editors, An End Has a Start
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Sunday May 20, 2007[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The Observer[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]
The second album from The Editors
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Dark: Birmingham's The Editors[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The Editors are:[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Tom Smith: Vocals, Rhythm Guitar[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Chris Urbanowicz: Guitar[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Russel Leetch: Guitar[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Ed Lay: Drums/Percussion[/FONT]
Getting through an Editors review without mentioning their influences is like trying to eat jam doughnuts without licking your lips - torture, but the doughnut is pretty tasty all the same.
For all the copycat accusations levelled at the Birmingham four-piece since their widescreen post-punk first met with success in 2005, songs such as 'Munich' and 'Blood' packed an anthemic punch few of their more angular peers could match. And as for the comparisons with NYC peers Interpol, Editors substituted the balls-out swagger of that outfit's crunching guitar sound with a grandstanding post-rock sensitivity all of their own. Besides, when was the last time a member of Interpol had a number two record while going out with Radio One's Edith Bowman?
Unfortunately it's not enough simply to swaddle yourself in layers of Edge-like reverb and declare yourself an epic. You've got to bring the tunes to back it up, and parts of An End Has a Start are all sound and fury, signifying nothing.
On the other hand, when the band do snap suddenly into focus, you really sit up and take notice - 'The Racing Rats' is a rattling, full-tilt delight, the Bunnymen-esque 'Escape the Nest' sounds choppy and propulsive, and the spare piano chords and skittering drums of 'When Anger Shows' make it the alt-rock cousin of Baby D's 'Let Me Be Your Fantasy'.
Epiphany by its very nature is a fleeting beast; by trying to force the moment too often Editors neglect the simple details that make your hairs really stand on end. But, for now at least, their tendency towards overwrought ambition fails to dim the slew of stellar moments that make An End ... a worthy successor to their star-making debut.
Track listing
- Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors - 4:49
- An End Has A Start - 3:47
- The Weight Of The World - 4:20
- Bones - 4:08
- When Anger Shows - 5:47
- The Racing Rats - 4:19
- Push Your Head Towards The Air - 5:46
- Escape The Nest - 4:45
- Spiders - 4:02
- Well Worn Hand - 2:56
guardian.co.uk