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Editors
In This Light & on This Evening review
:. Genre: Rock
:. Year: 2009
:. Country: UK
:. Official Site: Editors
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The Editors built their reputation on two solid efforts which, if not groundbreaking, successfully surfed on the post-joy division wave and on their nervous live performances. They are back with an album that takes them in a new direction; a move which isn't that surprising if you think about it, as they seem to closely follow the path established by their heroes, turning to electronic music just like Joy Division morphed into one of the most popular synth-pop acts, New Order.
Listening to In This Light & on This Evening, it is clear that embracing electronic music was a calculated opportunistic move, trying to cash in on the success of the MGMT and co scene, as the band doesn't seem fit for their new identity. The sound used here is clearly outdated, annoying at times, making it as awkward as if Bon Jovi released a house record. The failure is even more emphasized as the presence of big producers such as Flood (Depeche Mode, U2) can't save a project doomed from the beginning.
While one of the assets of New Order was that the voice of singer Bernard Sumner was soft and melodic, pleasantly accompanying their synth-pop anthems, the Editors' Tom Smith's voice sounds too rough and pompous when hanging bare below the electronic arrangements rather than when muscling its way through layer of nervous guitars.
What's left of In This Light & on This Evening is a series of forgettable songs, which while catchy at times are mostly irritating with their poor arrangements and overall mediocrity. Even the single "Papillon" is boosted by an appealing melody turned into a gimmick, stretching a good idea into unknown direction.
Just like most bands in this neo post-punk scene, the Editors seem to be prisoners of their carbon copy formula and, unless they authentically reinvent themselves, they seem destined to finish in this darkness they love some much.
Ed Dantes
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