“It creeps all over you like a dull ache
Think of all the things your hands could make
It pulls you to the ground like soaking wet gloves
The change in your face when anger shows…”

-The Editors – “When Anger Shows”

With a dearth of any truly new albums to review, this one (released in June) came to me courtesy of Strange Scottish Girl. The Editors are a Birmingham (not Alabama) quartet who hit in 2005 with their debut “The Back Room”, which went to No. 2 in the UK and was nominated for a Mercury Prize. I have this album, but honestly couldn’t tell you too much about it. According to my iTunes ratings its at least not completely unpleasant. I know that this band is one of the new wave throwback acts that are doing well in Britain these days – see Interpol and Franz Ferdinand for more examples. I am a child of the 80’s who just has never liked most 80’s music – despite trying – so I came to this album with a pretty negative attitude. I expected this album to be a continuation of, as one reviewer put it, “suckling on Joy Division’s bleak teat”.

So, in some ways I got what I expected. Lead singer Tom Smith still sounds like he’s auditioning for an Ian Curtis tribute act. There is still a pallor of synth heavy depresso-pop that infiltrates many of the tracks. And if you listen to the whole of the album at a sitting I can guarantee that you’ll be a little bit sadder than you were before you started. I’ve just done so and am frantically looking for something a little more inspiring to cheer me up.

But, “An End Has a Start” goes beyond easy-pigeonholing as a derivative new wave reissue. It’s dark, but with a hope of redemption . When, as in a lot of the tracks, you think you’re stuck in an Echo & the Bunnymen synthetic riff rut, The Editors bound out with some U2-esque soaring guitar and piano. Lyrically, The Editors use a similar motif – a transition from Bauhaus dark to Snow Patrol cheese as in “Bones”:

“Oh retreat, retreat
I’ve fallen at the low tide
Now retreat, retreat
And meet me by the quayside

In the end all you can hope for
Is the love you felt to equal the pain you’ve gone through…”

And Smith’s voice is convincing and sincere. You believe his tale of lost love. This sense of transition or transformation is found in most of the tracks – particularly strong ones like “Smokers Outside the Hospital Door”, “Bones” and “Escape the Nest”. When it’s absent, when the songs drone along for the length of the track it’s just not very strong.

In general, I think that this is an intentionally transitional album. The retread new wave market is limited in scope and frankly Interpol does it better than The Editors. But there’s a lot of room for British bands that do soaring U2 and “Bends” era Radiohead pop songs – Coldplay has sold 30 million albums and Snow Patrol’s last record went to number 1 in Britain and Australia. Maybe The Editors are smart enough to try and bring some of their fans along with them on the road to Top 40.

The verdict. There’s nothing particularly original or compelling here. There’s no reason to run off and buy it right now, but its a reasonably enjoyable listen – particularly if you were in the right mood. Tracks like “Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors” (available free here) and “When Anger Shows” are excellent and if you’re a singles listener are definitely worth downloading. If you like Snow Patrol, Interpol or some of the darker new wave bands, The Editors might be for you. But unless you still dress all in black, have just recently had a bad breakup or are a 16 year old girl then I would recommend “acquiring” this album rather than paying full price. Just so you feel as depressed as I after listening to this record, I’ll leave you with lyrics from the closing track…

“Take my well worn hand
Let’s lock ourselves away
We’ll never, ever step outside
We’ll curl up in a ball and hide

I don’t want to go out on my own anymore
I cant face the night like I used to before…”

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