"A Ton of Love" signals the dumbing down of Britain’s doom and
gloom imitation of New York's Interpol. As the synthesizers and fans drew away
from Editors' third album In This Light and on This Evening, you could
feel the eventual collapse of modern day post-punk's unlikely stars. The
Birmingham quartet had it made with sophomore album An End Has a Start,
with the symphonic "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" and piano
heavy "The Racing Rats". It pulled them in to a terrain of filler and
ballads rather than the fast paced eccentricity of their debut album The Back
Room and its singles "Munich", "Bullets", and
"Blood". They could have gone in any direction post-In This Light
and on This Evening. They knew full well that going electronic and synth
heavy means sacrificing the guitar roots, and this came true when lead
guitarist and instrumental member Chris Urbanowicz left due to creative differences.
It's clouded as to whether Urbanowicz's departure was from the increase in
electronics or the departure from electronics. Sources suggest Editors have
taken their fourth album The Weight of Your Love even further down the root of
electronica, however this pre-release tells the complete opposite story.
I honestly don't think there can be many long
term Editors fans out there that are happy with A) Urbanowicz's departure and
B) this single. It takes on stadium etiquette with an even deeper Tom Smith
vocal. Urbanowicz has been replaced by two members, Justin Lockey and Elliott
Williams, both of which are pretty much unknown desirables. Smith and co have
kept the status quo low with these two members as Editors set to offer up a
happier and decisive fourth album. They just needed some fresh air, and they've
taken four years for that well needed break. It's a strange move though, from
the glamorous moog synthesizers of "Papillion" to the U2 arena rock
of "A Ton of Love". It's been a well-received single, but one that
has stood out to me as a strangely euphoric come back. An aged Smith sings the
repetitious chorus: "Desire," which is huge in
comparison to their stark and short structures on In This Light and on This
Evening. On the track's verse, Smith sings: "I don't trust the
government, I don't trust myself," in a surprisingly anxious
manner, something that doesn't strike me as in Smith's nature. It follows this
general rock path with basic structure and extremely basic percussion. The
guitars are actually playing chords, one of the few Editors' songs to actually
bare a simplistic instrumental arrangement. It just suggests that Editors are
aiming for a comprehensible sound with little to show off.
~Eddie
~Eddie