Editors
In This Light and on this Evening

The Editors are one of those bands that practically contradict a sneaky but now established practice in the world of rock and music in general: that is, debuting with an album of perhaps excellent quality, only to inevitably fall into mediocrity with subsequent albums. The Editors' journey has been practically the opposite: They debuted with the good "The Back Room" where the sounds derived from the frequent listening of "U2" were more than evident, continued with the excellent "An End Has a Start," and arrived at the latest "The Weight of Your Love," undoubtedly their most commercial creation even though in more than one passage truly admirable. But before that, there was another album (the third) where the Editors felt the need for evolution, perhaps precisely in order to arrive at the latest "The Weight..."

In this third album, titled "In This Light and on This Evening," the band decides to retreat, if not completely eliminate the guitars of Chris Urbanovitz, in favor of a massive use of keyboards, synths, and various electronics so that from the reminiscences of "U2," but also "Cure" and "Joy Division," they arrive at a pop-romantic sound and, why not, at times decadent. But it must be said that the result is courageous and excellent:

The title track, or the opening piece, is entrusted to an intro of gloomy keyboards, just as gloomy is the tone and voice of the singer. Other overlapping keyboards prepare the entrance of the drums, sealing the track as one of the best on the album. "Bricks and Mortar" demonstrates what can be done with electronics, surpassing even, in my opinion, certain productions by Radiohead and the like. The rhythm is virtually perfect; it's a long and expansive piece, full of pathos... The same can be said for "Papillon": tight rhythm, almost like a disco track, but there is no illusion, we are far from danceable and carefree pop: The epic nature of this ride along a cliff destroys all these sensations.

After all, it is the epic nature that is the true hallmark of this album, beyond the previously mentioned gloominess. Not that gloomy tones are completely abandoned as in the beautiful "The Big Exit," but even in this case, the song takes, as it proceeds, an almost redemptive sense... The experimental "The Boxer" is entirely perplexing in the way the rhythm and melody are conducted. Baffling and wonderful is "Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool" equally experimental, but with experimentation done with great awareness. The beginning is farcical, almost a joke, yet a few seconds pass, time for the synth to enter, and the jokers run away... once again, there's nothing to laugh about; the singing is painful and heartfelt, the epic nature sky-high. All this is sealed by the concluding "Walk the Fleet Road," slow and pulsating, reminiscent of a church hymn... Reading the Bible in a church in a seaside village, by the ocean. Perhaps the port from which Ahab's ship set sail in pursuit of the white whale, in pursuit of "evil," but everything fades into a deep and restorative sleep.

Despite the significant progress the Editors have made with each album, I am of the opinion that this is still their masterpiece; in the search for change, where many bands have sunk, they have found inspiration and produced an album as cohesive as few in the genre, revealing themselves as perhaps true authors in the use of electronics. I should once again (despite boring the readers) mention the reason for such a result: it is once again, forgive me; absolute music, which, as I have always tried to explain, builds its expression from within, without emotional embellishments to support it; It's pointless to sing: "oh, all you need is love!" loudly... expression is something else: it is achieved only in the (perfectly spherical) Form of the song, without emotional bumps that spoil its sphericity. Absolute music is closed in on itself... Only in this way can true emotion flow freely through the "information" of expression.