Jul 2005

Nationwide Mercury Prize Nominee 2006

2005 has been a good year for Birmingham-based Editors. Debuting their dark and brooding indie with ‘Bullets’, the band found themselves in the somewhat unique position of having their single for sale for ^30 on eBay during it’s week of release after all copies of the limited edition sold out by the Tuesday.

Follow-up single ‘Munich’ delivered on the promise of that first release, with its retro stylings and swirling gloomy brilliance entering the UK Top 25 Singles chart and propelling the band’s name into a wider public consciousness. With third single ‘Blood’, Editors have confirmed all their hype to be justified and merited, with its gloomy and overcast New Wave vibe being likened to Interpol and Joy Division, whilst its incessant cowbell-accented driving danceablility and rifftastic onslaught conjuring up the art-rock edge of Franz Ferdinand following a very bitter break-up.

Now with their debut album The Back Room unleashed, Editors have expanded from their comparisons and stepped into a league of their own. With tracks like ‘Fall’ and the epic ‘Open Your Arms’, Editors have fleshed out their panic-attacked instilled indie to more emotive realms, where the retro riffs and synths have been stripped away to view the artistry of a broken heart laid bare, soundtracked to twinkling effects and glistening chords.

With ‘The Back Room’, Editors have crafted an album that is eerily captivating, veering away from anything depressingly archaic, thanks to their deep rooted sensibility of dark-disco and their New York stylistic leanings. Taking indie into deeper and darker realms, Editors have proved that the bright glory days of Britpop is certainly not on their agenda.

"Never before have doom and gloom sounded so surprisingly uplifting and hopeful. 8/10" - NME