Editors: The Back Room

We here in the States are, too often, behind the times when it comes to music. KT Tunstall's album "Eye to the Telescope" was out a year before it released here, and now we have the Editors with "The Back Room," available in the UK since last July, it dropped in March here.

This four-pack of British musicians offers up, on "The Back Room," 11 tunes that almost make me think where Coldplay could have evolved to if they hadn't been so busy doing the exact same sound for 6 years. Actually, the more I listen to it, everything about the Editors is a more mature sounding Coldplay.

The album is heavily guitar-driven, layered on top of simple but effective drumb beats, coupled with some mild synthetic sounds, nothing too obnoxious. Lyrically, it is not complexly built; this is not the lyrical equivalent of Blonde on fucking Blonde. That being said, these chaps do manage to put out a powerful lyric or three throughout the album, including such gems as "Look at us through the lens of a camera, does it remove all of our pain?" from Camera and "Oh, if fortune favours the brave I am as poor as they come," from Lights.

Including those two tracks, I highly enjoy All Sparks, Open Your Arms, and Munich.

In the end: Anyone who's remotely thought Coldplay was good can easily grab on to this album, but don't let the comparison turn you off. These guys are unbelievably good, and definitely worth a checking out.

On the Web: See photos from their show at the Paradise Rock Club (July 30, 2006).

Technorati Tagged: Editors | Brit Rock | Coldplay