Editors - Guitar music for dark souls

Prelude

The brood of English "new rock" keeps churning out numerous acts that time will sift through: some of these young up-and-comers will be swiftly forgotten, others will earn the honour of being remembered. Editors are one of the last outfits spawned by Old England, formed at the turn of the millennium by four lads barely in their twenties: Tom Smith (vocals and guitar), Chris Urbanowicz (guitar), Ed Lay (drums) and Russell Leetch (bass).

The four met at the University of Staffordshire, near Birmingham, and cut their teeth under the names Pilot, The Pride and Snowfield. Still going by Snowfield, in 2003 they released a self-produced Demo EP containing six embryonic tracks that would later become Editors songs. At the end of 2004 they signed their first record deal with Newcastle independent label Kitchenware and changed their name to Editors. Shortly after came the debut single "Bullets", followed by "Munich", which cracked the UK top 20 and catapulted them onto MTV. A run of UK dates and the attention lavished on them by the British press generated huge anticipation around the band, who released their debut album in July 2005.

Are they just the English Interpol?

On The Back Room the power and aggression of their live shows are reshaped and softened to better pave the way to the upper reaches of the charts. The sonic palette, much like the colours chosen for the album's packaging, means the record is immediately filed under "dark", given the fairly obvious nods to Joy Division. It's updated new wave, less synthetic and more pop than its older sibling produced 25 years earlier. The problem is that the game of references doesn't only involve bands from the past, but contemporary ones too, so much so that Editors could easily be mistaken for Interpol, whom they resemble dangerously closely — a point that will be seized on by the earliest detractors.

The opening track, "Lights", sets out exactly what the listener should expect: it sounds like Interpol with the early The Edge on guitar. And the references to the U2 guitarist return in the riff of "Someone Says", surely written after nights spent listening to "Boy". While on one hand there's an occasionally irritating sense of déjà vu, on the other there's the undeniable ability of the band to write excellent, chart-ready rock songs. Rounding out the work are a series of singles and EPs containing notable b-sides, in many cases every bit as good as the material on The Back Room, which the band would later reissue in subsequent years.

Buoyed by the strong reception of their debut, two years later Editors hit the mark again, topping the UK charts with their hugely anticipated second album An End Has A Start. To grasp the Birmingham group's stylistic evolution, you need go no further than the first track, "Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors": especially in the monumental opening of the chorus, woven with ecstatic choral vocals, it shows they've absorbed the lesson of early Arcade Fire, in its deliberately grandiose tone, its vaguely operatic gait and a certain underlying reverence that sends the guitars flung wide open onto scenes of damnation and disorientation. Compared to the debut, there's a more pronounced attention to the "dramaturgical" construction of the songs and greater three-dimensionality and perspectival depth, but the overall mood of the compositions remains rather sullen (see "The Weight Of The World" and the closing ballad, balanced on two skeletal piano notes, "Well Worn Hand"). The losses suffered by some band members, along with a period of crisis and soul-searching following the success of the debut, must have contributed to this. Still, the feelings Editors put into play come across as sincere, and their sound, at least in its most inspired moments ("Bones", for instance), begins to gain a certain, easily recognisable, identity.

Not bad at all for a band many considered the English response (and plausibly a more radio-friendly and catchy one) to the blow struck by Interpol's debut, "Turn On The Bright Lights", to the fragile universe of indie. The shared reference to Joy Division (often denied by the band in interviews) still appears central and very defining in certain passages (the resemblance lies mostly, if not exclusively, in the pained, baritone tone of singer Tom Smith's voice, which at times also edges close to those of Richard Butler of the Psychedelic Furs and Ian McCulloch of Echo And The Bunnymen, other tangible influences). But among the main touchstones of the "new" Editors, U2 are confirmed as foremost. Just listen to the particular way guitarist Chris Urbanowicz sets off the guitar cyclones of "An End Has A Start" and "Bones". This places Editors within an intricate lineage of bands who have tried to rework the original insights of the historic Irish group, with mixed results — Coldplay and Snow Patrol chief among them, but also the Radiohead of "The Bends", certainly fundamental to Editors' musical education. Because, ultimately, songs wrapped in a prickly, biting dark-rock shell, like "When Anger Shows", "Spiders" or "The Racing Rats", nurture a secret melodic and "pop" heart, with an unsuspected craftsmanship. On tracks like "Push Your Head Towards The Air" or "Escape The Nest", the band also shows a desire to progressively head down the path of a modern, choral and epic stadium rock.

The controversial electronic turn

On the following In This Light And On This Evening (2009), the Birmingham quartet decide to dethrone the guitar from the dominant role it had held up to that point, in favour of a heavy use of synths and keyboards. The result of this operation is a collection of nine substantial, lengthy songs, dominated by a brooding, reflective mood. The band thus arrives at a romantic, decadent synth-pop, one in which the silhouettes of New Order, Ultravox and above all Depeche Mode now loom large. The taste for an epically celebratory, ascending mood remains, but it's bent towards a more closed-off, danceable sound, as well illustrated by the new anthems "Papillon" and "Bricks And Mortar".

After a cold, tense opening, which at times recalls Vangelis's work on the score for "Blade Runner" (the title track "In This Light And On This Evening"), the record unfolds into synthetic melodies that aren't wildly different from one another, ranging from the laboured orchestral constructions of "You Don't Know Love" to the desolate, dreamlike landscaping of "The Big Exit". "The Boxer" and "Eat Raw..." also stand out, particularly the winding chorus and the techno-gothic opening of the song's second half, with noir synth punctuation shaping a nocturnal, cinematic fade-out. The album's epilogue, the lukewarm breath of "Walk The Fleet Road", is a kind of homage to Joy Division's "Atmosphere".

It's undoubtedly a good thing that the band indulged its own need for change, taking on real risks and, to some extent, putting itself at odds with itself. The choice fell, quite reasonably, on a gradual but continuous process of experimentation, one that struggles to translate into a fully convincing album. What remains is expressive songwriting, swollen with pathos, at times refined and subtle, but with room for further improvement in terms of compositional complexity.

It was nonetheless a painful process within the band, with no shortage of disagreements over which musical direction to pursue. Disagreements that persisted even after the release of In This Light And On This Evening, with four turbulent years made even harder by the departure of guitarist Chris Urbanowicz, who most likely felt pushed to the margins of a project in which the role of guitars had become, albeit probably only temporarily, no longer central.

The band was in limbo, and according to many was on the verge of splitting up, when in 2011 a lavish, exhaustive limited-edition anthology boxset, Unedited, hit the market and quickly sold out. It included all three albums released so far, plus a further four discs (titled "You Are Fading") of bonus tracks and rarities. This satisfied fans' wish to get their hands on physical copies of songs that had become hard to find, much-loved compositions almost always on a par with the material on the official albums.

Editors' second life

Just when the band's story seemed to have reached a premature ending, in 2012 came the news of new guitarist Justin Lockey joining the ranks, and the start of work on the Birmingham band's fourth album.

In July 2013, with The Weight Of Your Love, Editors went back to analogue clothing, with eleven tracks (plus three more on the deluxe edition) of catchy, melancholic indie-pop capable of winning over no small number of new converts.

From the heavily Depeche Mode-flavoured atmosphere of the opener "The Weight" to certain U2-style epic touches ("A Ton Of Love", chosen as the lead single), Tom Smith's band almost definitively exorcises the ghost of Joy Division. Driving songs like "Sugar" and "Formaldehyde" become the band's new anthems, while plenty of room is also given to more delicate moments, as in the case of "What Is This Thing Called Love" and "Nothing".

The shift towards poppier territory is partly walked back on the follow-up, In Dream, released on 2 October 2015 and positioned halfway between the English band's guitar-driven impulses and their more electronic ones. Editors decide not to disown any part of their past, gathering the best from each of their reincarnations, despite the fractures caused by the various stylistic directions taken. The songwriting turns dark and brooding again ("At All Cost" is almost funereal), steeped in that noir existentialism (evident already from the black-and-white cover) that shifts the axis back towards early Interpol, reconnecting with the Joy Division-rooted post-punk lineage. The early '80s, synths and electronics dominate once more, but the approach is less uncompromising than the icy atmospheres of "In This Light". Among these ten tracks, some are ready-made instant classics, especially "Life Is Fear", one of the most compelling of the bunch. But there are plenty of other standout moments: from the emotionally charged minimalism of "No Harm" (previewed ahead of release and tellingly placed at the start of the tracklist), the true manifesto of the new Editors, to the over seven-minute epic closing ride of "Marching Orders".

Worth noting is the presence of Bob Mould behind the desk, and even more so that of Rachel Goswell of Slowdive, whose voice elevates no fewer than three tracks, especially the intensely ethereal "The Law", the duet that stands as the album's other precious high point. Tom Smith proves once again to be a charismatic frontman: he knows how to shift vocal register to suit each song's needs, leaning now towards baritone, now towards falsetto ("Our Love"), always with great intensity. The rest of the band stand firmly in his service, but if Editors are today one of the most acclaimed acts on the thriving British scene, the credit goes above all to Smith, who with In Dream delivers a consistency few would have predicted just a few years earlier.

Unwilling to settle or ever make the same record twice, Editors keep exploring new paths. Violence, released in March 2018, again foregrounds the electronic side of the band. Compared to its dark predecessor, Violence carries the same intensity, but channelled into songs with a broader, more energetic sweep. The opening run showcases Editors' mastery at crafting excellent pop songs: "Cold" grabs the listener immediately, dropping them into the record's climax, before shaking them up with the following "Hallelujah (So Low)". The third track, "Violence", is the current Editors' calling card: a driving, elegant sonic flow impossible to resist, the lesson of their beloved New Order absorbed and put into practice à-la Editors, once again to great effect. After this opening trio, though, there are no further masterstrokes: nothing truly stands out, even if everything is balanced and well calibrated, including the arrangements put together with the collaboration of Blanck Mass and Leo Abrahams.

"Darkness At The Door" and "Nothingness" follow in succession, recalling latter-day Depeche Mode, up to the driving "Magazine", in which Smith rails against the current corruption of those in power. Thematically, the album, as the frontman stated to Jo Whiley live on BBC2, is centred on human relationships, on bonds with lovers and friends, on truly staying connected with people in these times of social media and appearances. The moving piano-and-voice ballad "Not Sound But The Wind" treads the same ground as "Well Word End" from An End Has A Start, while "Counting Spook" stands out as one of the most inspired moments of the record, closed by the heartfelt "Belong".

Announced on Record Store Day 2019, The Blanck Mass Sessions was released on 3 May, featuring some tracks from "Violence" in an alternative guise, the one originally tailored by producer Blanck Mass, versions later toned down by Leo Abrahams' further input. The result shifts the axis towards an even more direct and forceful electronic sound, territory in which Blanck Mass is a recognised master. Seven tracks from "Violence" were included (the ballads "No Sound But The Wind" and "Belong" are left out), plus the unreleased — and frankly rather skippable — "Barricades", almost an apocryphal Coldplay track hybridised with a Mumford & Sons flavour, which adds very little to the original menu.

The different treatment given to the songs is evident: the most striking case is that of "Counting Spooks", a track that went almost unnoticed on "Violence" but here gains in force and grandeur, shedding some of the wave-ish darkness that enveloped it to be reborn anew. The title track, meanwhile, pushes the electro component even further to the fore, something that already emerged powerfully in the closing section of last year's released version. The Blanck Mass Sessions completes and improves on the Violence project, without ever risking becoming a pointless appendix to it. Fans will be free to pick their favourite versions, in a kind of modular album. A fun little exercise that could also be read as a bridge towards a club-leaning future. Without ever forgetting that this is certainly not the band's first electronic turn...

On 25 October 2019 the compilation Black Gold was released, containing thirteen tracks from the band's back catalogue plus three new songs: the title track, "Upside Down" and "Frankenstein", the latter released ahead of summer. The deluxe edition adds a further eight tracks in acoustic form.

Only for those who ordered Black Gold through the band's official website was a reissue of the 2003 EP "The Snowfield Demos" included as a bonus.

In Lockdown with You Are Fading

At the end of April 2020, in the middle of the pandemic lockdown, two of the compilations included in the "Unedited" boxset were released digitally, You Are Fading Vol. 3 & 4, which thus become a kind of journey-playlist through the 2000-2005 period, the most prolific — and certainly the most creative — of Tom Smith's band. From the debut "The Back Room" resurface the demo of "Camera", the single version of the first single "Bullets", three b-sides and three bonus tracks; from the follow-up "An End Has A Start" a couple of bonus tracks are gathered, while no fewer than nine tracks come from the sessions for "In This Light And On This Evening".

From the energetic charge of "A Thousand Pieces" to the more reflective, introspective "The Picture" and "These Streets Are Still Home To Me", the eighteen tracks range from the guitar-driven approach of the first album (the resemblance to Interpol is striking: "Colours" sounds like it was ripped straight out of "Turn On The Bright Lights") to the controversial shift towards more synthetic sounds carried out on the third album ("Human", "My Life As A Ghost", "I Want A Forest", "Thousands Of Lovers"). A precise summary of the stylistic evolution of the young Editors, already capable of painting highly evocative scenes ("This House Is Full Of Noise") without fear of showing clear darkwave influences (the à la Cure bass of "From The Outside").

Within a few weeks, Volumes 1 & 2 of You Are Fading were also released, with plenty more material on offer: the guitars of "Heads In Bags" and "Banging Heads", the synth spirals of "For The Money", the dark epic quality of "Let Your Good Heart Lead You Home" and "Some Kind Of Spark", the enveloping softness of "Open Up" and "Release", the very Depeche Mode-like hand of "Last Day". As already noted several times, Editors at the time moved between the ambition of trying to become the new U2 and their clear post-punk roots, which in the early phase of their career drew strong comparisons to Interpol and the nu-new-wave scene.

The compositions gathered here were born during the sessions that shaped not only the debut "The Back Room", the subsequent masterpiece "An End Has A Start" and the controversial "In This Light And On This Evening", but also a series of EPs that rounded out that era. The best-known tracks are "No Sound But The Wind", reproduced here in a full-band version, and the sweet "Every Little Piece", but the songs that hit hardest in this case come at the end: "Come Share The View" and, even more so, "Dust In The Sunlight", which pulls off an unexpected slant between Pavement and Radiohead — two songs that prove the quality of Tom Smith and company's work, well beyond what became universally known at the time.

This is how Editors complete the full availability of all the material contained in "Unedited" and the complete works covering their first five years of activity, given that a further 2003 EP, "The Snowfield Demos", had already been re-released as a bonus attached to the best-of "Black Gold", at least for those who ordered a copy through the band's official website.

Yet another stylistic shift

The contribution that Blanck Mass made to Violence and to the The Blanck Mass Sessions project must have gone down particularly well with Tom Smith and co., given the British composer's official inclusion in the Birmingham band's line-up.

An important partnership, lasting around five years, a timespan that allowed the pair to work on new material and, above all, to plot yet another stylistic shift in their career.

EBM is the title of the new album released by PIAS in September 2022.

Electronic Body Music – the combination of elements drawn from industrial and dance electronics – or in other words Editors + Blanck Mass: the acronymic title of the new album had already prompted various readings on the eve of release, all of them decidedly fitting.

That said, the four singles used as appetisers highlighted both the strengths and the weaknesses of the operation, as has often been the case in the past for the English sextet.

The best proof of this is undoubtedly "Kiss", a gripping, engaging and well-constructed track, a kind of fusion between New Order and Giorgio Moroder, bringing together the old and new Editors across roughly seven minutes of ups and downs, closed off by a semi-instrumental coda that works especially well live (an environment that has always suited them perfectly), as already noted in our report from the July concert held in Genoa.

There are good vibes too from "Heart Attack", a track in which Smith's pen effectively dissects the morbidity of certain romantic relationships. While the sonic framework seems to bring back the dark, direct sound of their early days, it's pushed beyond the usual horizons by Blanck Mass's electronics, adding unusual touches with a vaguely psychedelic flavour.

The remaining two singles, on the other hand, show more mixed results. Of these, the eighties-style electrowave of "Karma Climb" is preferable to the lack of boldness in "Vibe", which is utterly devoid of the magnetism that has always been the band's winning card.

Fortunately, there are further arrows left in the quiver. In particular, tracks such as "Strawberry Lemonade", which aims to call out the political and social divisions splitting the UK, and above all "Strange Intimacy", the bleak summation of the end of a relationship, are the situations that mark the true connecting thread of this renewed path, one that skilfully blends new wave and post-punk with dancehall-style electro-industrial. Frenetic frequencies also pulse through "Picturesque" and "Educate", while more expansive, introverted structures form the essence of the enigmatic "Silence".

EBM is probably the boldest record Editors have released so far, perhaps even more so than the excellent, underrated In This Light And On This Evening. The result is gritty and satisfying.

Listening to Editors' ongoing discography, one thing is for sure amid the highs and lows: you certainly can't be overwhelmed by boredom, and this time there's even a push to get your hips moving a little.

In 2025 Tom Smith opens a solo chapter with There Is Nothing In The Dark That Isn't There In The Light, a project born not as a break but as a deliberate return to the original core of his songwriting. After years in which Editors explored ever broader architectures and a theatricality often built on the contrast between electronics, volume and emotional chiaroscuro, Smith opts for subtraction: barer songs, a close, fragile voice, arrangements that stay close to guitar and piano, with measured touches of strings and cinematic detail. Iain Archer's production acts as a magnifying glass: trimming, rewriting, paring back, letting every song hold the spotlight without any scenery. In this context, the two recurring poles of Smith's poetics — light and noise — settle into a new balance: the noise recedes, the light becomes clarity, memory, resilience. Though shot through with echoes of more intimate Anglo-American songwriting (a kinship in spirit with Rem is perceptible), the album retains a personal, almost confessional voice that showcases its melodic strength without chasing easy climaxes. Live too, performed in acoustic sets and smaller venues, the record confirms its nature: not a farewell to Editors, but a parallel line that broadens how the band can be read, illuminating by contrast what was often masked in the band's work by the "noise" of form.

Contributions by Cristiano Orlando ("EBM" and "There Is Nothing In The Dark That Isn't There In The Light", Tom Smith's solo debut).

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google