By Alexia Kirov, Music Editor
'It is at the times when they move deep into brooding synth territory that the full glory of Editors is paraded' Music Editor Alexia Kirov reviews Editors' Bristol gig
Editors were one of the biggest bands of the mid-noughties indie boom, having had two number one albums and both Mercury Prize and Brit Award nominations to their name before the decade was out.
While many of their contemporaries and that noughties zeitgeist have faded away, Editors have remained a strong force – their sixth LP, Violence, was released earlier this year.
The five-piece open with ‘The Boxer’, a sombre album track from 2009’s In This Light and On This Evening. It would be uncharitable to say it’s a slow start; the combination of frontman Tom Smith’s meditative lyrics, yearning keys and the smoke machine cloud that sweeps over the band is very affecting.
For any band, the decision to start off with a deeper cut means that there is always the risk of not immediately establishing a connection with the entire audience; it seems that tonight, this might be the case.
But for artists with as much experience and commercial success to bolster them as Editors, this is soon rectified. The hefty, overdriven riff of third song of the set, latest single ‘Hallelujah (So Low)’ is all it takes to create that vital coalescence between the audience and the band.
There are plenty of big moments like this to shore up the atmosphere: the gutsy, self-assured hit ‘Papillon’, this year’s ‘Magazine’ with enough anthemtic glory to fill an arena, and of course, final track, ‘Munich’. Smith teases the audience with its tireless and timelessly brilliant opening guitar line played on piano before the whole band launch into the track with full velocity. An acoustic version could be lovely, but tonight, it would have been a misstep.
It is at the times when they move deep into brooding synth territory that the full glory of Editors is paraded. With the band cloaked in purple light, Violence’s ‘Nothingness’ sprawls out over five minutes and is the set's unabashed highlight. It expands and contracts, shifting from moments of synth-pop to ones of introspection seamlessly. A full-bodied illustration of the band at their best, that Editors continue to make music like this is exactly why they have outlasted those who were once their peers.
All images: Epigram / Alexia Kirov
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