editors-anendhasastart music reviews Virgin Media
Doom-mongering Brummies try and do a Coldplay – but just sound cold
Like so many bands (Bloc Party, The Killers) following successful debuts with sophomores eager to sound "epic", Editors are another over-stretching limited talents. After the success of Mercury-nominated debut The Back Room, the Brummie four-piece are now ceasing to ape (the effortlessly superior) Interpol, and U2/Coldplay-up their bleakly monochrome, Joy Division-influenced post-punk.
Producer Jacknife Lee (U2, Snow Patrol) buffs up the shimmering guitars and pounding rhythm section, while Tom Smith’s baritone drones about death and loss. Much like their debut, when melodies and ideas exist, it’s impressive. Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors’ simple piano line and choir-led ending stand out while the title track evokes the desolate urgency of 2005 single Munich.
But on the whole, where, say, Coldplay have the gift for tunes and words before slamming bombastic instrumentation around them, Editors lack such gifts and descend into empty bluster: reverbing the bejesus out of your guitar is not deep (see The Weight Of The World). Meanwhile, lyrics such as "Every little piece of your life will mean something to someone" feel penned without thought but are delivered with uncomfortable pomposity. Nothing wrong with naked ambition, but sometimes it’s braver to just get naked.
More to try:
Interpol: Antics
Coldplay: A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Bloc Party: Silent Alarm
Editors: The Back Room
