Editors returned to the Nick Rayns LCR in Norwich last night for yet another sold out show with support from Talos.
They are survivors from the mid-noughties UK indie explosion which has seen the majority of their lesser compatriots fade away.
Their current UK tour follows the release of their sixth studio album ‘Violence’, which is critically acclaimed and vindicates their continued presence as headliners at big festivals across Europe, and has topped the charts in many countries.
So why does this not happen in the UK, and why do the music press not rave about this jewel in the British musical crown more often? For me Editors have always been the ‘okay-est’ band of the ok bands alongside the likes of The Wombats and The Kooks. A decent British indie band who aren’t bad, but aren’t great either. They’ve done a couple of decent tracks over the years, but never one I’d turn up on the radio.
However tonight was the first time I’d ever seen them live and my rule is never to judge a band before this. A good job too as Editors just wiped the floor with almost every other band I’ve seen play live in Norwich this year. The utterly brilliant Peace at The Waterfront are the only contenders, which shows just how good tonight’s performance was.
Lead singer and guitarist Tom Smith led the band perfectly through an epic twenty two song set, culminating in a four song encore. Alongside him Justin Lockey on lead guitar did not drop a chord all night, with Ed Lay on drums and Russell Leetch on bass guitar also excellent. They seemed a band at the very peak of their powers, absolute masters of their game.
The heaving, sold out crowd were of course well onside and shuffled and nodded (depending on their distance from the stage) enthusiastically most of the time, singing along occasionally, but also content to stand and watch for the slower songs. This was a maturing crowd of course, and a great example of the cross section of your typical Editors fan base with plenty of old tour T-shirts on display. Their loyalty has been hard-won with fifteen years of decent albums and performances under the bands belt.
I’m hoping to see them on the main stage at a UK festival next year or at least in one of the large tents. On the strength of tonight surely they deserve top billing somewhere major in this country.
A nod has to be given to support act Talos who sounded pretty good beforehand. The sound was very chilled and ethereal alt-rock, with nice use of synthesisers and effects alongside the guitars and vocals of Cork lad Eoin French. The debut album Wild Alee is well worth checking out.