Editors: In This Light And On This Evening
Editors – In This Light And On This Evening
By Greg Lehman
Close your eyes. Imagine a dark London underworld. You’re walking unsteadily through the cavernous sewer and a voice from the shadows engulfs you.
“I swear to God, I heard the Earth inhale,
moments before it spat its rain down on me.”
It’s a low, beautiful baritone, but slightly sinister. Somewhere in its low melodic register is a sense of urgency.
“I swear to God, in this light and on this evening,
London’s become, the most beautiful thing I’ve seen.”
Then they attack.
The synth-heavy melodrone gives way to extra fuzzy guitars and crashing, maniacal drums. It’s that imperativeness the voice was taunting you with. Break the silence, kill the monotony and run away from the herd. Whatever it is, it’s coming… and it does.
Taking the best lessons from the likes of U2, Echo and the Bunnymen, Joy Division and The Cure, Editors’ third album screams modern synth mope pop, but still forays into the deep tweed pockets of the Thatcher/ Reagan era.
This album is a huge leap from 2007’s An End Has A Start. Making clever use of live and mechanical drumming, the band manages to poetically boost melodic plot lines and give the listener such intense sounds that even the most sullen of “shoegazers” would look up. Not to be outdone, the guitar riffs continue to be as perfect as they are deliberate, using a vast array of effect pedals to enhance lyrical meaning and provide a delicate touch of space.
It’s the perfect device to carry the sorrow present in singer Tom Smith’s sexy, bleak calling card of a voice (most notable on themes like sex, death, blood, God, and guns).
“I give a little to you, I give a little to him, I give a little to her.”
When the songs “The Boxer”, “The Big Exit”, “Like Treasure” and “Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool” invade my living world I want to put on heavy eye liner, break out the safety pins, put on my best black trench and thank Editors for making misery sound so fucking cool. – (9/10)
Editors play the Showbox at the Market on February 5.