Editors have been a strange band to keep track of. Wandering from a genuinely great debut wearing post-punk-influences on its sleeve to brooding synth-anthems to stadium-rock back to synth-anthems, the band has been uneven, yet never boring. "Backroom" is still tremendously popular and has proven quite the obstacle to overcome for the band. The overall good, yet definitely weaker successorEditors have been a strange band to keep track of. Wandering from a genuinely great debut wearing post-punk-influences on its sleeve to brooding synth-anthems to stadium-rock back to synth-anthems, the band has been uneven, yet never boring. "Backroom" is still tremendously popular and has proven quite the obstacle to overcome for the band. The overall good, yet definitely weaker successor "An End Has A Start" closely followed Backroom, yet the drastic turn to synth-driven dark-wave on ITLAOTE completely turned around what the band "Editors" meant.
With the album being equally reviled and embraced by audiences, Editors had seemingly been stuck in a strange place, trying to determine what they want to do up to 2015. After middling reviews for album four, the uneven stadium/pop-rock-driven TWOYL, Editors came back with a punch on the fifth one, "In Dream", by doubling down on the synths of the controversial ITLAOTE. "In Dream" finally cemented them as a dark-wave/synth-pop band. Now on the appropriately titled "Violence", they are back with a vengeance, erasing the last shred of doubt that synth-pop/dark-wave is not the way to go for them. I can understand everyone disappointed by this last nail in the coffin for the "Backroom"-sound of Editors, but overall, the signs for this direction have been there most of the time since 2009.
Still, commitment to a sound alone does not make a good album. Thankfully, Violence turned out to not only be good, but great. After having received the album one day earlier than expected, I´ve been listening to it on repeat as it has completely drawn me in with its soundscapes, diverse arrangements, engaging hooks and absorbing song-writing. It creates its own brand of dance-able darkness, retaining a throbbing heart right in the center of it all. Editors have never felt this willing to lean into a heavily anthemic sound while still staying true to the gloomy topics they have mostly been writing about. Unrequited love, passage of time, the search for silver linings; never has any of it felt this accessible yet this desolate in the band´s songwriting.
"Cold" immediately shows the listener what´s to come; an admirably dedicated performance by Tom Smith mixed with synths serving as the backbone of the song. It´s enjoyably poppy while not overstaying its welcome. No gadgets, just a genuinely enjoyable song with post-punky guitars coming in at a great spot to give it some weight.
"Hallelujah" builds on the good first impression of "Cold". Featuring a surprisingly industrial sound with crunching guitars, the song throws a wall of palpable energy towards you and expects you to run with it. It succeeds.
However, the first highlight of the album and quite possibly its best tracks follows immediately after; the title-track "Violence". Forming a moody atmosphere with its reduced use of instruments, backed up by desperate yet alluring vocals by Tom Smith, the song manages to create a pull to rival the best in the dark-wave genre. It oozes atmosphere and releases the tension it builds perfectly.
Unfortunately, after the high-point of "Violence", the weakest song of the album follows. "Darkness at the Door" does not manage to uphold the power of the first two songs, nor can it create the atmosphere of "Violence"; it simply sounds too tame and un-ambitious in comparison to the songs before it. It´s not terrible, it´s just weirdly forgettable and the only song on the album worthy of skipping.
Thankfully, "Nothingness" brings the dark-wave gloom right back on track. Streamlined and just sparsely enough instrumented to let the electronic beat and Tom Smith shine, it delivers another stunner.
The following "Magazine" may be the most dance-able out of all the songs on the album. Powerful and anthemic, carried by bass and synthesizer, it relentlessly pushes the listener onto the dancefloor while remaining scathing and ironic to its core. Great stuff.
Subsequent, another type of powerful anthem emerges with "No Sound but the Wind", finally being released in a definitive studio-version. In this version, it´s still grandiose drama while being somewhat over-indulgent, yet it´s so heartfelt that it ultimately just grabs the listener and does not let go.
"Counting Spooks" is another triumph on the album and closely resembles “Violence” in song-structure. Heavily dance-able all while being gloomy and morose with cold synths, an engaging hook and a sublime performance by Tom Smith, the atmosphere it creates is just phenomenal.
Ultimately, "Belong" serves as a worthy conclusion to this great album. Its eerie and sweeping soundscape paired with Smith´s angry/emotional outburst of a chorus round out the album to a fitting whole, drawing a close thematic connection to opener “Cold”.
“Violence” delivers a great experience that´s thematically Editors to the core; it´s dark yet welcoming, poppy, yet never dull or uninspired. Hit me right here, Editors.… Expand