In This Light and on This Evening

Editors: these colors don’t run

The English foursome Editors should already been well-known to the followers of indie-rock thank to their first two records having so much more in common, yet nicely underlining the easy recognizable style of the young musicians. While there are still many of those claiming this band simply treads the path trodden by Joy Division and, thus, will always be out of the limelight, you can prefer listening to Editors instead of listening to such critics and enviers. The quartet’s former long player, An End Has A Start, stated it clear that, despite all the associations and copycat charges, this group is intended to follow the way that once was chosen. You can verify it with listening to their new album, In This Light And On This Evening. Avoiding the effort to create something unprecedented or supernatural, these lads keep on playing gloomy, slightly gothic, indie-rock; and you have to admit they do it much better than many others.

Different be the song, top be the quality

The album is best opened by a composition that represents performers as they are. Considering this, Editors offer us a song from the very start that may easily be a trademark of the band. It could not be any other way because the title track is based on Tom Smith’s vocals, the band’s most efficient tool. The song appears really misty, having juicy guitars and intriguing electronic part. Nevertheless, it is followed by Bricks And Mortar playing in a truly different, more optimistic, manner. After that comes the single Papillon with mediocre verses preparing the listener for a very emotional chorus. You will find a very interesting structure with The Big Exit as here the music tends to fade almost to silence before a sudden outburst once again. On the contrary, The Boxer has an even instrumental line without a feeling of excitement or anxiety observed in the previous number. The album’s last composition, Walk The Fleet Road, is completely opposite to track one for it has an effect close to that of a lullaby. The songs of In This Light And On This Evening are, indeed, different in their expressivity and rhythmic solutions, while the musicians are loyal to the musical means of their execution. Each song is built upon the foundation of ghost-like synthesizers and distinct bass-guitar passages where you will enjoy the echoes of Smith’s incomparable singing.

All as it should be!

Now will you be able to say how many more albums and songs Editors have to produce to leave behind the notoriety of plagiarists? None! The In This Light And On This Evening album has to make it all very clear. If, listening to it, you go no with speculations about Editors copying Joy Division, you have got to be either an archenemy of the former or a hardcore fan of the latter. The third studio work by the Birmingham four-piece is a massive integral work of art with its own soul, face and truth. You are not going to find here a single filler or extra song because all of them match one another perfectly and create a unique musical concept of the album. In the times when many young performers, in their endeavor to find or create something new or inimitable, wander in the dark of music and come out with nothing, Editors remained loyal to what they started with, worked out their own style and demolished all the statements about their unoriginality or lack of creativity, no matter how painful and strong they once were. Taking into account the gentle age of the band, we have the right to expect many more quality efforts from these talented musicians.