Editors Add Synth - Lose Focus
Editors don't evolve as much as abandon.
Editors
In This Light and On This Evening
Released on Jan 19, 2010
In trying to push the boundaries of their sound on their latest album, The Editors have taken a step forward in experimentation, and two steps back in craftsmanship and overall song quality. I've always liked The Editors and felt that the “Echo and the Bunnymen meets Coldplay” label that they are saddled with is unfair. Shockingly, Coldplay and Radiohead are not the only bands from The UK to use the piano to write moody songs, and The Editors always stood out from their peers because their first two albums - In The Backroom and An End Has a Start - were darker and more deeply textured than the standard Britpop sound. It's a shame, then, that the band's third album, In This Light and On This Evening, is such a mixed bag.
The disc finds the Birmingham-based foursome adding synths - a lot of synths - to their arena-ready sound. In fact, the title track opens the album with a plodding synth line and Tom Smith's baritone intonation of "I swear to God…" and sets the mood for an entire album of Kraftwerk-inspired electronica. I like a band that can take a working formula and spit in its face, and The Editors deserve credit for doing just that - In This Light and On This Evening is a big-jump from the mid-tempo pop of their last two outings. But it would be even more impressive if they were able to evolve the formula instead of abandoning it completely; it would be even more impressive if the results of their new album weren't so hit-and-miss.
The disc has its upsides. While their sophomore album An End Has a Start was too simple and light at times, In This Light and On This Evening has more bite in faster tempos and propulsive base work. And, as ever, Smith is a talented lyricist. When he quietly sings, "I hope I was good for you" over and over at the end of "Bricks and Mortar," it sounds reserved but sincere. The problem is that the music is mismatched for the tone of the lyrics. A lot of British bands have cycled through the electro-inspired Krautrock sound that The Editors tread here (Coldplay's bloated X & Y comes to mind), and the results more often than not sound more cheesy and hollow than cool. Smith's lyrics about death, religion and London at night seem poignant, but in the glossy backdrop of needless low-end synths they play like farce. Imagine Right Said Fred writing a song about life and death you're in the right ballpark of what's happening on this album. It's too cold and impersonal. But for small moments - "You Don't Know Love" features some skillful guitar work and is one of the better songs in the band's catalogue -- the album feels like forced change rather than natural progression.
The Editors get points for their willingness to step outside their comfort zone; next time they just need to bring along the warmth and melody that made them buzz-worthy in the first place.
High Point
The affecting guitar work on "You Don't Know What Love Is."
Low Point
The glossy synthesizers that swirl around every other track.
Posted by Ryan Peters on Jan 19, 2010 @ 10:30 am
