In This Light and on This Evening [VINYL]

I'll be honest - A End Has a Start left me just a little underwhelmed after loving The Back Room, as it felt like a coda to the first album ('Smokers' notwithstanding) rather than a step forward.

Having heard the majority of these new tracks live more than once now, I'm pleased to say that this time Tom Smith and his merry (ok, maybe not so merry) men have taken two steps forward in one go. Analogue type synths everywhere giving recognisable song structures a fresh new twist.

There's no substitute for seeing this band 'live', as CD never seems to quite capture that indefinable something that makes them great in that environment, but this new album will be the next best thing. You might have already heard the lead off single, Papillon. If you haven't make every effort to do so - it's one hell of a song.

No doubt the usual 'sounds like Joy Division' knockers will be out again, and fresh accusations of jumping on the retro-80's bandwagon with the new layer of sound. So what? I'm old enough to have loved Joy Divison, Gary Numan et al first time around. EVERY band sounds like someone else one way or another - just accept these as a damn fine set of songs from a band who genuinely look like they might be able to adapt and stay around for the long term, which is a rarity these days.

Buy the album, play it loud, and if you can, make every effort to see them live.

I think it's a bit of both. Guitars replaced with synths. It sounds very close to Depeche Mode. "Papillon" is a
sonic example of this area. "Bricks and Mortar" melody reminds me something of Joy Division. The ghost of Ian Curtis sings "You were the truth when you lied..." on "You Don't Know Love". I'm not trying to say that I'm not
happy it sounds like it sounds. Guys did really good record here. I like it very much.

Two years ago Editors delivered on the promise of their debut album with the phenomenal `An End Has a Start'. It was filled with a combination of Joy Division inspired atmosphere and tom Smith's brand of snarling vocals. It was a triumph. Now two years on the band returns with third album `In This Night and On This Evening' and the sound has developed again. This time around Tom Smith and company have taken their old Joy Division influence, put it through the blender added a seasoning of synths and gothic harmonies and branded the result with seven big shiny new letters E D I T O R S.

So this brand new monster starts in ominous form with the title track. It's all pulsing synth and gentle piano lines. Smith's vocals are like those of a witness at a trial all monotone and almost spoken. It builds gently for almost three minutes before a menacing distorted riff kicks in with a pounding drum line that compels you to pay attention to the chaos swirling around it that eventually returns to that pulsing synth. The second track then feels open and charming in comparison. It is lead by gently rising synths accompanied by a bouncing drum line. For the first time on this track you also hear the new addition of choir like harmonies on the chorus. Again as this track progresses it seems to build towards the end.

When you reach track three you are greeted by the familiar sound first single `Papillon'. Only one thing sums this track up and it's Smith's own lyric of "It kicks like a sleep twitch". This lyric seems to conduct the song as it develops from simple synths in the first verse into the chorus with its more intense sound and simple harmonies. This is a beautifully crafted song which even though six minutes long is demanding of your attention throughout. It's a fantastic listen. To follow this then Editors have to pull another masterpiece out and they do. `You Don't Know Love' starts once again with that stripped back synth line with nice supporting bass and drum lines. The choir like harmonies are used much more obviously in this track which helps to set it apart and keep the interest. The energy of the chorus is fantastic echoing the opening lyrics of the track it will be a great crowd favourite when the band tour this October. `The Big Exit' is a really surprising track. The first thing you hear on the track is a sound like a paper shredder. Once this fades you are left with the expected drum and synth combination and Smith's echoing and mournful vocals. He uses his voice to great effect in this track sweeping from melancholy to stretched highs. The track twists and turns elegantly building and almost falling silent before building once again to a menacing crescendo lead by layered vocals repeating themselves over and over.

`The Boxer' adds a change of direction in the album. It opens with a popping lead line which is slowly absorbed into a combination of gentle piano and atmospheric vocals. It is a soft track that doesn't build to the crescendos which drive those before. `Like Treasure' starts in a clear and atmospheric mood with Smith's voice echoing gently in amongst the mix. This is followed by a track which has one of the best track titles I have read this year, `Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool'. It is just fantastically strange. The track itself matches the name. It opens with a synth line like a broken warning siren backed by a gently bouncing bass line. Smith's lyrics are brilliant on this track with lines like "Your blood drool attracts the flies". The whole thing seems strangely communal somehow with the chorus of "I give a little to you. I give a little to him. I give a little to her." The album then closes out with `Walk the Fleet Road'. This is a softly swelling track that opens with beeps and brushes of synths. Smith's vocals echo on the verses and feel like the high pitched whisper of the wind on the choruses. The carefully placed backing vocals and hummed harmonies add a slightly desolate dimension to the track which then fades into the background and leaves you alone once more.

So at the end of it all Editors have managed to take a running jump forward. It is an album that throws off the last remnants of any Joy Division comparisons and leaves you with a distinct impression of who this band truly are. It has been beautifully crafted to maintain interest and originality throughout. They have not allowed a moment of filler into the album and kept it at a phenomenally high standard. Editors now stand apart as the truly talented artists that they are.