Editors - Roundhouse, London - March 18 2014 (Live Review)
Monday, 24 March 2014
Written by Ryan Crittenden
Editors occupy quite a niche bracket these days. Almost 10 years and four albums on from 2005′s dark disco debut, ‘The Back Room,’ this promising guitar band have not sky-rocketed to Arctic Monkeys-level fame but have maintained a loyal and enthusiastic fan base, managing to sell out two nights at the exquisite Roundhouse in Camden.
As silhouettes of the band members appear through a sea of shimmering lights, gospel-like opener Sugar, complete with a thunderous Russell Leetch bass line and operatic gasps, gives the show a predictably dramatic start.
The set showcases Editors through the ages and it’s tracks from the band's first album and follow-up, ‘An End Has A Start’ that stand out.
Munich, Bullets, An End Has A Start and the powerful, unintentionally topical The Racing Rats are the best moments from a largely average set.
Songs from ‘The Weight Of Your Love’, Editors’ 2013 effort, fall flat, with even old favourite All Sparks failing to wake from the slumber.
The performance from Tom Smith is as passionate, if not as enthralling as days gone by. His velvety baritone vocals still send shivers down the spine at times, but those moments are all too rare. Prowling around the stage, Smith glides from side to side like a drunken ballet dancer, but with just a few glimpses of him behind the piano and on guitar, he seems a little lost as an out and out frontman.
An animated performance of A Ton Of Love, the lead single from ‘The Weight Of Your Love’, is an unexpected peak, but the power exuded is again left to dissipate as Bones and Honesty follow. They are not tracks to end a set with.
Fortunately, an encore of Camera, Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors and Nothing paves the way for the grand finale. Papillon, one of few highlights from the ‘80s electro throwback album ‘In This Light And On This Evening’, is as exuberant as it gets, with confetti cannons firing and synths to shake the Roundhouse’s foundations.
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