Live Review

Editors – Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool

• 28th Apr 2010

The nature of Liverpool’s Philharmonic hall meant that for fans this gig was always going to be a little different. Much more accustomed to the conductor than the front-man, this all-seater venue made up in acoustic capacity what it lacked in audience participation.

As far as diversity of style is concerned, special guests The Strange Death Of Liberal England take some beating. Drawing on influences ranging from folk pop to indie-rock, they offer epic, drawn-out affairs. They’re often delightfully nuanced as well, suggesting that repeated listens would not be wasted. With fresh ideas and haunting melodies, they fill the listener with intrigue and implore them to delve further.

By contrast, the forward-thinking Fujiya & Miyagi bombard the audience with highly rhythmic, almost hypnotic tunes. Having formed in 2000, the four-piece have taken time to find their feet, yet this may have been to their benefit. They deliver an astonishingly crisp, clean sound highly accomplished in its assault on the audience. ‘Ankle Injuries’ in particular seemed almost beguiling in its directness, only compounded by ending as it did with the relentless terrace-like chanting of the band’s name.

With the audience eager and in their seats, Editors duly entered the stage. With the third album’s style having taken the band down a new path, they may well have been hoping to shake off any lazy comparisons with the likes of Interpol and Joy Division, always refuted by the group themselves. Whilst the distinctive dark sound of the first two albums gave the group a strong identity and two very coherent records, it may have prevented the songwriting from maturing fully. Not that the charts agree, as all three records have been resounding successes. It does seem though that the boys from Stafford have unshackled themselves somewhat since ‘The End Has A Start’. Moreover, whilst retaining the brooding quality evident on the likes of ‘All Sparks’, the third album is equally accessible, infinitely more interesting and may well appeal to a different breed of music fan.

Indeed, Tom Smith himself appeared visibly more animated when performing new singles ‘Papillon’ and ‘Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool’. Making greater use of Chris Urbanowicz’s synthesizer, comparisons to the likes of Portishead or Depeche Mode would now be more accurate. It all went down rather well too and despite the restrictions that rows of seats bring, the crowd were soon on their feet and and this was by no means a sedate affair. Despite being three albums down the line, on the evidence of tonight Editors are no spent force. Although they are yet to produce a real masterpiece, if they can continue to apply themselves so ably to new creative horizons then they will only get better and better.