Editors - The Back Room

I finally got around to picking up the latest CD by Editors entitled "The Back Room." It's been released for over a year in their hometown U.K., but just this year received widespread release here in North America. It's a very impressive release that harks back to a pre-Joshua Tree U2, when the band was still brimming over with contagious punk rock energy without actually being punk rock. The first three tracks, "Lights", "Munich" and "Blood" will grab you right away with a ferocious potency that will ring in your ears for days. They all follow a similar chord structure, which in the hands of less talented and less imaginative musicians would likely get boring. But every song here culminates in an anthemic chorus that will surely fill the listener with majestic exultation. My favorite track is "Bullets" with the repetetive refrain "you don't need this disease" building up in a way that is similar to Bono's contagious chanting of "walk away walk away" in "I Will Follow" all those years ago. Most reviewers have chosen to make the Joy Division comparison, but the Edge-like jangle in the guitar work is undeniable. And I'm always comparing bands to Joy Division. However, if Editors provide us with a couple more solid releases like this, we'll be reading reviews of future bands where Editors will be the main point of comparison.

Downloads:
Bullets mp3
Blood mp3

Editors' myspace page.
Purchase the CD "The Back Room" here.