THE EDITORS

There seems to be some sort of media consensus that simply because the po-faced gloom-mongering Editors originate from Birmingham (along with Manchester, the biggest British city outside London) they make a much better and more original Joy Division rip-off band than New York's Interpol. The Editors do make a decent fist of peddling the same droning bass, chiming guitars, deadpan vocals and maudlin lyrics as Interpol but the fact that they sound almost identical (only less good) should certainly count against - not for - them. If Interpol hadn't been around for the past few years and knocked out two respectably strong albums then perhaps we should all be hailing the Editors as an exciting new band. However, Interpol of course HAVE been marking this territory quite considerably in recent years and therefore the Editors can only come across as entirely derivative and unoriginal, even in these days of retrospective trend-apeing. At times it really does resemble judging entries in a Joy Division tribute contest and, in such instances, surely it is the original that should stand out as the best. I have already said that the Editors do make a decent fist of it but they also do little to actually make themselves deserve to be considered worthier pretenders to JD's throne. You don't need me to tell you that New York and Birmingham are rather different cities and it is therefore surprising that Tom Smith (of Editors fame) and Paul Banks (of Interpol fame) should sound so alike. Smith, however, takes his Curtis impression a little too close to mimicry, particularly with the brooding semi-narration on "Camera" sounding so serious it is in danger of dropping into unintentional parody. Furthermore, as well as sounding alike both singers fall similarly down with their attempts at matching Curtis's lyrical genius. The lyrics on here range mainly from the meaningless and banal ('you'll speak when spoken to', 'you don't need this disease') to the cliched ('with my eyes closed I look closer', 'if something has to change it always will'). And, like Banks, Smith sings them with such self-importance that they cannot be brushed away under the clatter of guitars and instead come out as empty-headed statements of spurious importance. As musicians, the band are up to a competent standard but they lack the fluent dynamics and invention of Interpol. Of course, one simply cannot argue with great songs. Unfortunately, the one way out for the band proves to be a dead end as most of the efforts are just too derivative and by-numbers to stand out. The album opens at its strongest with the more up-tempo shuffling charge of "Lights" and "Munich" and despite the awful lyrics initial single "Bullets" gets marks for 'epicness'. The bite of "Fingers in the Factories" is also somewhat memorable, even if it begins with Smith's most obvious and therefore most cringeworthy Curtis impersonation. Most of the rest, whilst far from being of offence, is simply sub-Interpol. Plus, I have probably lowered the mark by one simply for being just SO derivative and unoriginal. I realise it must be infuriating for the band to read a review of this album (big fans of this site, I'm sure) which constantly compares them to Interpol but they simply brought it on themselves. The plain fact is they came out second and therefore within a shadow that already had been cast. They might have rescued themselves through the material but, whilst acceptable by general standards, it is simply not as good as another band doing exactly the same shtick.

From: Andrew Bicknell

THANK YOU!
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks they are Overrated and that they're lyrics are BORING.
They may play tight music, but they have NOTHING to say.

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Email me at: jackfeeny@yahoo.co.uk