Editors: An End Has A Start

Joy Division seems to be the band to emulate these days. The problem is that most of these bands aren't any good at it. Or they start good and then get boring. Editors is one of those bands that get lumped into the Joy Division army. They're pretty good. However, I personally don't think there's anything Joy Divisionish about them. I suppose Tom Smith's voice has a slight Ian-ness to it but musically, I'm hearing a definite early U2 vibe. Their new release is entitled "An End Has A Start" and despite the truly painful album title, the CD is actually quite good. Not as good as "The Back Room," but still good. The formula stays pretty much the same (which means that I'll probably hate the third album if they don't give me something different and step things up a notch.) Doom and gloom are the topics of discussion and every song explodes with guitars that ring louder than my ears do for three days after a Dinosaur Jr. concert. It's the Edge-like guitar ring permeating this release that conjures up U2 memories for me. The rockers are exciting, most notably "Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors," and the title track with the goofy name. "Spiders" is another album highlight, using the classic start simple and then BUILD approach. The problems that were evident on the first album however, are just as evident here. Many of the songs sound the same. The ringing guitars, while undeniably cool on a few songs, get a bit irritating after a while. And most of the ballads are just plain dull (with the exception of the album closer "Well Worn Hand," which I think is beautiful.) With similar bands releasing mediocre albums this year, this Editors release is a little bit more worth the money, although just slightly so. I'm thinking that, since Joy Division already got it right the first time around, maybe people should stop trying to imitate them. Mind you, Austin's I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness is awesome and they do a bang-up job of JD-imitation so what do I know?

Editors are another band that's performing at this years' V-Fest which I can't afford to go to. So if you're last name is Rockefeller, enjoy the show that of course takes place on Toronto Island on September 9th, 2007.

Download:
Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors mp3
An End Has A Start mp3

Videos:
Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors youtube
An End Has A Start youtube
Bullets (still my personal favorite from "The Back Room") youtube

Editors on myspace
Purchase "An End Has A Start" on Amazon.ca.

Interpol - Our Love To Admire

I was really rooting for Interpol with the release of "Our Love To Admire." Their first album sounded so fresh and new compared to all of the other Joy Division wannabes, that I had to believe that "Antics" was just a minor slip-up. The critics were so cruel to them after that release, and although I agree that it wasn't great, I didn't think it was that bad! I actually quite enjoyed several tracks on it. However, with this third release, they find themselves with yet another fatty lambasting by the critics. Again, I don't think it's that bad but I can't see myself listening to it all that often. It starts off great with "Pioneer To The Falls" which is an epic song that starts off with a casual drone before slowly building and building to a hip sounding guitar ringfest. The other highlight is "Wrecking Ball," which may have very juvenile lyrics (as does most of the album actually,) but it's delivered with a sincerity that makes the song endearing. Unfortunately, over the course of the album, the band just sounds bored. There doesn't seem to be any passion in their delivery and I really miss that. I would like to see the band revisit the first album, re-light that fire that they so obviously had there, and then find some way to harness that into something new. I still believe they can do it, I really do!

Interpol is another band playing this year's V-Fest on Toronto Island. They will be playing as part of the Saturday lineup and I hear that their live show would really put me in my place! Sadly, I won't get to find out. Drat.

Downloads:
Heinrich Maneuver mp3

Interpol's myspace
Purchase "Our Love To Admire" at Amazon.ca