Album Review: Editors - In This Light And On This Evening

Album: In This Light And On This Evening
Artist: Editors
Singles: Papillon
This new album from Editors is a very interesting change of direction from their usual stuff, embracing the sound of synths for a fantastic new album. There are huge anthemic moments, there are beautiful moments, and there are some really catchy songs on there.

In This Light And On This Evening
From the first note of this album, you can tell it's going to be huge. The album sounds like it knows where it wants to go, and this song is a great starting point. It is a very dark, intense song, and it builds up slowly while Tom Smith repeats a weirdly poetic lyric ("I swear to God, I heard the Earth inhale, moments before, it spat its rain down on me. I swear to God, in this light and on this evening, London's become the most beautiful thing I've seen.") a few times before the song launches into an insane instrumental where all the synths crash wonderfully into one another. A very strong opener.

Bricks And Mortar
It's only the second track and we're already onto six minute epics. This is my favourite from this album. It is led by a fantastic synth riff repeated throughout the song. This is another build-up song - first come the drums, then the bass, then the synths, then the vocals, then some backing synths... etc. The best part is when the drums get going about a minute in. Then two and a half minutes in, it launches into a huge chorus backed by a choir, as Tom tells us "this home is more than bricks and mortar." The song then adds some odd instrumental noise before it calms down for a story about a boy becoming a soldier, before launching into one final chorus, and then it keeps up the synth riff to the end. Absolutely fantastic stuff.

Papillon
The first single, clocking in at five and a half minutes, is another long song. Its synth riff is a stroke of absolute brilliance. The line "it kicks like a sleep twitch!" is odd, but guaranteed to get some crowds chanting along live. It seems to be the song with the most simplistic song structure on this album, but is catchy and keeps up the amazingly high standard the album has set so far.

You Don't Know Love
"You don't know love like you used to. You don't feel love like you did before" opens this song, rumoured to be the second single (a well-chosen one at that). The song returns to a dark mood that shows the band making full use of their synth sound. And just before you were getting bored of having no guitar, in comes a fantastic guitar solo that, despite its repetitiveness, perfects the song for its final two minutes.

The Big Exit
The most raw song on this album. It pretty much only features drums, an odd mechanical noise that crops up every so often and vocals for the first couple of minutes, save for a chorus backed by one lone synth. It is very much an album track, unlikely to make it as a single, but will work (and has worked) well live. Towards the end it turns into a massive crash of vocals chanting "They took what once was ours" with drums and synths that sounds incredible. Odd, but brilliant.

The Boxer
This is my second favourite song from this album, and builds up slowly with synth noises and piano before a beautiful synth riff joins them. A very downbeat song, but with a massive chorus that manages to pack a lot of emotion into it. It sounds huge, particularly the second time round, when Tom continues to sing in tune with the synth riff. It reminds me of some parts of the band's previous album, An End Has A Start, particularly The Weight Of The World. The ending of this song, with Tom singing "dazed in the final count" with a fantastic mix of synths, is absolutely staggering. Brilliant song.

Like Treasure
Very much an album track, and in my opinion the weakest song on the album, but still very good indeed. It really sounds good when it gets to the random instrumental synth bits at the end. But it's not as memorable and instant as most of the tracks on this album. I'll be amazed if this becomes a single (despite its popularity amongst a lot of Editors fans (at least, amongst ones that I know))

Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool
Interesting title. Slightly disturbing, and the only song I've ever heard that has an equals sign in it. Inventive. But regarding the music, the song is another brilliant, raw, anthemic masterpiece. The drums, at first, seem a bit weak, but then they smash in for the massive chorus, that sounds quite poppy, particularly with the seemingly uninventive lyrics "I give a little to you, I give a little to him, I give a little to her." One final anthem before the deep beauty of the final track, which is...

Walk The Fleet Road
"A winter wind blows, in from the north" opens this final song. The humming throughout the song sounds great, and this song is another indication of how well Editors can use their synths to full effect. Like The Boxer, it manages to pack a sense of emotion into its chorus. It's unusual that this is the shortest song on the album; usually the last song is quite long, but this one is the only one under four minutes on the entire album. It does feel like it ends too quickly at the end, but shows that the band can tinker with their normal formula and still make it sound completely stunning.

Overall, the new sound is a welcome change of direction. Of course, I wouldn't complain if they went back to guitars, but they seem extremely comfortable with this new synth sound. They have used it to make an absolutely brilliant album. Despite having only nine songs, the album flows wonderfully. There are little bits here and there that don't sound perfect, but that's just me nit-picking and doesn't spoil the enjoyment of the album. As such, I don't feel as though there's anywhere I can knock points off. Therefore, I give this album:

For the record, their previous albums: The Back Room (8/10), An End Has A Start (7/10)