A Ton Of Love (Single) - Editors

Editors were the first band that I ever saw live. I was a huge fan of their first two albums, “The Back Room” and “An End Has A Start”, especially tracks like ‘Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors’, ‘The Racing Rats’ and ‘Munich’. They even became the first band that I saw live for a second time, as they were one of the support acts for R.E.M. during their final UK tour. Suffice to say that at the time they were one of my favourite bands. Then the difficult third album came out, the highly experimental “In This Light And On This Evening” which I tried to convince myself was good for a little while. Then whilst listening to one of the few okay-ish tracks from that album ‘Papillon’ a thought struck me: “what the hell is this song about?” Thereafter I found myself thinking the same thing whilst listening to most of their other songs. 

A little while after “In This Light And On This Evening” upset my expectations, I discovered The National, a band with similar influences, but who had a much better and more fully realised sound. It was a shame that Editors slipped so far down my radar, especially since I had loved their sound so much when I first discovered them. The third album was a big disappointment, not just because it was a weak offering, but because it caused me to re-evaluate how much I liked the band.

With all of this in mind, I approached Editors latest single with an open mind. It had been a long time since I had listened to any of their music, and I was aware that the band’s line-up had changed in that time.

The result?

‘A Ton Of Love’ is actually a very solid track, a pounding energy runs through it, the guitars have a much rockier edge, and Tom Smith’s vocals have a lot more force than they used to: especially when the chorus comes in, as well as on the repeated “desire” refrain. This new sound builds on what the first two albums established, and strengthens it (as opposed to changing it altogether). If this single is anything to go by, then the new album should be pretty good – essentially what the third album should have been. Having fallen from grace – at least in my regard – Editors seem to be on the rise again. I may need to hear more though, before I decide whether to buy the latest album or not.