The Editors - 02 Academy, Monday 11th November

Tonight Matthew I'm going to be......Expressive frontman Tom Smith isn't far from bursting his slight frame tonight as his gloom-fuelled quintet takes the packed 02 crowd through the good, the bad and the god-awful of 80's post-punk.  Always an easy target for criticism The Editors have made it through their first ten years and 4 albums with a strong fanbase where many have fallen away.  Their debut album (and arguably still their best) went platinum and earned them a Mercury prize shortlisting as the brummie band became a regular festival favourite in the Noughties.  They’re back in Bristol tonight in a bid to repair some of the damage done by Flood produced third album/synth-electro mish-mash; ‘In This Light And On This Evening’ and recent slight improvement fourth; ‘The Weight Of Your Love.’

Starting with new track ‘Sugar’ and Russell Leetch’s pulsing bass appears to borrow heavily from Bjork track ‘Army Of Me’.  Smith writhes and squirms about the stage, enchanting the crowd as he howls “it breaks my heart to love you” with the facial expressions of a man having a cardiac arrest.  There’s billows of smoke and a crackling light show, it’s an appropriate backdrop for their maudlin melodies and Smith’s blood-curdling Ian Curtis baritone to really let rip. Dropping in the anthemic ‘Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors’ so early could be a mistake but tell that to the delighted owners of pointy fingers and waving limbs across the sweaty pit.  

‘Two Hearted Spider’ has an intriguing title but that’s where the intrigue ends as they slip into watery Simple Minds territory and the crowd begin to chatter.  Thankfully though it’s one of only a few tonight that bore rather than bewilder and it’s obvious that most punters are here for the first two albums.  ‘Munich’ sounds as joyously violent as ever and is the night’s obvious highlight and ‘Racing Rats’ with its pumping chorus and grandiose piano is a real moment of class.  Sadly though the feeling that this could be one of the great gigs is short-lived as Smith tries to force the lengthy drab Coldplay-esque ‘Honesty’ and Leetch leads an uncomfortable clap-along.  

First encore ‘Bricks And Mortar’ is an unmitigated disaster with some irking, rancid trance bleeping and Smith pounding the piano in a Thom Yorke stupor as the audience shrugs.  Only a couple of new tracks hit the spot tonight (‘Sugar’, ‘A Ton Of Love’) in what is a tale of two eras for the band.  Smith certainly gives it his all throughout and you can’t fault the desire to diversify their sound but you can’t help but feel that they’re struggling for consistency.  Mounting the piano on ‘Nothing’ can’t save the tune from anonymity but they do at least leave on a high to a dancey ‘Papillion’ with its dark Depeche Mode disco and bleak-as-ever lyrics.  In all they can be pleased with what is a performance full of energy and passion; no band can consider themselves entirely original but at times, in a live arena, The Editors can draw upon the qualities of the past to look like world-beaters.

Setlist:

1. Sugar 
2. Someone Says 
3. Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors 
4. Bones 
5. Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool 
6. Two Hearted Spider 
7. You Don't Know Love 
8. All Sparks 
9. Formaldehyde 
10. A Ton of Love 
11. An End Has a Start 
12. Bullets 
13. In This Light and on This Evening 
14. Munich 
15. The Racing Rats 
16. Honesty 
17. Bricks and Mortar 
18. Nothing 
19. Papillon 

Best Track: click on link below
Editors - 'Munich'

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