Editors walked a fine line. Plagiarisers in extremis? Spirit-channelling musical mediums? Fiery flashes in the notorious indie pan? First album ‘The Back Room’ went platinum, bounced along by the anguished, catchy dynamism of cuts like Bullets and Munich. This year has seen the public bombarded with sophomore indie efforts which have caught their imagination – the likes of Arcade Fire and Bloc Party leap pulsatingly to mind; if Editors want to make it to the big league of career recording artists, that much-abused word ‘consistency’ must be scratched onto the agenda.
Second album ‘An End Has A Start,’ despite the cod-philosophising of the album title and some trite lyrics (think Coldplay with more angels), thankfully packs an emotional punch.
The arrangements follow a similar pattern to the first album, except here are augmented by denser backing, an actually audible rhythm guitar and some pretty angry drumming. Tom Smith’s voice is a revelation. No longer a bathroom mirror, hairbrush-wielding Ian Curtis fairground attraction, he uses baritone as a weapon, ripping through choice cuts with desperate devotion (An End Has A Start, The Racing Rats). The band still employ the old, somewhat underwhelming, ‘Uh-oh, we need a slow one’ knee-jerk, however, and the tracks that display a concern with this consideration don’t always come off (The Weight of the World).
Standout track is Escape the Nest, with its frisson-inducing guitar atmospherics and moment-crystallising emotional frenzy. Future single and, if the world has any sense, future hit.
Editors are concerned with sadness, but never despair. Here the message, first prophesied by Open Your Arms on ‘The Back Room,’ is redemption, the light at the end of the tunnel. Ultimately, Editors’ faith lies in human nature and the rejuvenating power of love. This is no hippy-happy collection, however, but a reflection on 21st century alienation and the eternal desire to connect with others. Here, music matches ambition in an album marked by quiet confidence and musical scruff-of-the-neck grabbing.
Hampson Audenshaw
Out 25th June
