It's been a remarkable year for the Birmingham-based four-piece Editors. Having signed to independent label Kitchenware at the end of 2004, their first single, 'Bullets', sold out within two days in January and raised the band's hopes of becoming a musical force to be reckoned with. Two more singles followed, 'Munich' in April and 'Blood' in July, and with both hitting the Top 20, the brooding post-punk foursome effortlessly claimed their place amongst Britain's promising new pop favourites. Gigwise caught up with Editors' tireless front man, lyricist and guitarist, Tom Smith, to talk about self-belief, ambiguities and contradictions.
"We’re better now than we’ve ever been, but we’re also very proud of the way it’s built over the course of this year," says the 24-year old. Being keen on seeing their reputation evolve, rather than crash and burn, Editors carefully calculated their next moves. They busied themselves with shows, including a UK headline tour, and their debut album, 'The Back Room', which shot to No 13 in the charts in the week of its release at end of July. September saw their first US appearance in Nashville, Tennessee, playing alongside Maximo Park and The Features, and the re-release of their break-out single, 'Bullets', with, Tom comments, "a bit more life injected into it."
When asked what he thinks about Editors' enviable success, Tom says, "Everything that's happened to us has been a surprise. We've always had self-belief and confidence, but arrogance has never been a part of what we’re about."
Editors are made up of Tom Smith, Chris Urbanowicz (guitar), Russell Leetch (bass, guitar) and Ed Lay (drums), and were once called Snowfield. Tom assures us that they never liked that name, that they had a number of terrible names. But once they'd secured a record deal, they wanted something they liked, and also something that didn't give too much away. "'Editors' just felt right," says Tom. "It’s no witty comment on any kind of journalism."
That's not the only elusive side of the band. Tom's lyrics, touching on loss, death, love or life, are equally ambiguous. "People should make their own interpretations," Tom explains. "That's a fundamental aspect of enjoying music. The situations described in the songs come from both my experiences and observing other peoples'. But I'm not telling stories. There’s no overriding message. The words are used to conjure up imagery, and are an attempt to touch and connect with people."
You get a good sense of his cryptic sentiments in 'Camera', for the singer the most important song on the album: "Look at us through the lens of a camera / Does it remove all of our pain? / If we run they'll look in the back room / Where we hide all of our feelings". Tom comments, "A photo can make any previous situation look sweeter. Everyone has a place they hide things they don't want people to see."
He says 'Camera' felt very important, and that musically the song stands out from their other songs. "Before we went into the studio we'd never recorded a song like it. I don't think if people had just heard 'Bullets' and 'Munich' they'd expect to hear a song like 'Camera'. I think we set ourselves a new bench mark. That’s why it’s the centre piece, and the album title comes from it."
'Camera' is a ballad and more elegiac than the other songs on 'The Back Room', which are an energetic collection of dark, moody, post-punk pop songs, and reflects well the album's underlying nocturnal theme.
When it comes to Editors' sound, Echo & The Bunnymen are endlessly name-checked, and the quartet has been accused of having borrowed a good sound - there's nothing wrong with that - but having added little to it. Tom clearly sees this as an affront: "Our songs and sound have evolved and improved over the three, four years we’ve been making music together. We’ve never tried to copy anyone or anything." He continues: "The only thing that drives us is to be as good as we can. Of course I can see similarities in what we do to a host of other bands, both old and new. I really don't mind if people don't like and / or don't get what we’re doing, but when people question our integrity, they can get fucked."
Of course, the comparisons don't stop there. Critics have likened the front man onstage to Ian Curtis (Joy Division) in his jerky movements and his dark and tight-fitting outfits. "...errr?" Tom innoculously questions. "I don't think there’s anything new about wearing dark clothing on stage or getting immersed in the music that’s being created. Anyone from Johnny Cash to Michael Stipe to Chris Martin......I've never seen live footage of Ian Curtis performing, unless you count '24 Hour Party People'."
Tom admits he's both comfortable and uncomfortable when stepping on stage. "Sometimes I have the time of my life, forget where I am, and when I get off I feel as happy as I could be. Other times I hate every second and wanna be somewhere else. Like everyone I’m full of contradictions."
For now Editors are in the spotlight. They appeared on Jools Holland's show in October, are currently the main support on Glasgow art rockers Franz Ferdinand's second album UK tour, will play a series of Barfly gigs in December, and a re-release of their second single, 'Munich', with new b-sides will
hit the shops in January. The Birmingham four piece have also just announced a tight, one-week high-profile UK tour kicking off in February next year.
But as the music industry can be a cruel muse, the question is have they got what it takes to remain in the headlines? Tom, for his part, is both confident and excited about their future. "Of course we’re so happy and proud of what we’ve achieved and that people are liking our music. But we also have to keep up our game. New songs aren't written yet, but I know we can make a better record than 'The Back Room', and I'm confident it'll be a step forward."
Will the new songs go musically in a similar direction? "We’ll see," he replies, enigmatic to the end.
