Editors The Back Room Kitchenware UK, 2005 amazon

So it's hanging out there, like the giant squid on the Griffin's dining table in Family Guy that Peter and Lois agree is best ignored. But you can't mention Editors without delving into comparisons to the godfathers of the genre, Joy Division. "Camera" is all but begging to be played next to "Atmosphere", united in their two note synth leads undercut by a bright bass guitar. The vocals of "Camera" tend to drift closer to Ian Curtis's warbly moan on "Decades", both in tone and melody. For Christ's sake, their album cover is practically a clone of such Peter Saville standards as Joy Division's Closer and Love Will Tear Us Apart. As such, Editors therefore merit comparisons to other current bands who have also mined the Joy Division trove, most notably Interpol. And like Interpol, Editors manage to transcend the comparison and present a record that's interesting in and of itself on their 2005 debut the Back Room. My belief is that when Editors stray into Joy Division country, they go completely native, but when they're away from this hideaway (which to be honest is probably a good 75% of the time) they retain only passing similarities to the pioneering Mancs. Consider the driving opener "Lights", boasting a frenetic energy coupled to singer Tom Smith's wail of "I still love the light on baby", with guitars screaming after each chorus. The album is split between the more reflective, downbeat songs and those of the forceful, toe-tapping variety. The slow group includes the aforementioned "Camera", and the resonant ballad "Open Arms" ("this lot, this lot have messed you around"). Despite their ability to convey emotion in the slower tempos, i prefer the faster songs. The single "Munich", despite its shiny guitar riff and lyrics, still manages to convey a sense of sorrow ("People are fragile things, you should know by now"). "Blood" and "All Sparks" are also engaging danceable songs, although the former is one of the 25% of songs in the JD mold (the verse melody is lifted straight from "Something Must Break"). "Bullet" almost manages to break from the somber theme of the album entirely. While the Ian Curtis purist in me finds it difficult to forgive Editors for their resemblance to my heroes, The Back Room is full of rewards for those willing to forget about the similarities to a certain Macclesfield foursome.

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