Editors

It’s a safe bet that at least one member of Editors has a tattoo commemorating Ian Curtis. The act’s debt to the joyless Division is so elemental that lack of corporeal acknowledgement would almost seem disingenuous. Even so, Editors aren’t merely mired in slavish imitation. Building on a foundation of dark, simplistic song structures and morose lyrics, the British four-piece layers in lush vocals, jaunty disco beats and enough brightly chiming guitars and flashy cymbal crashes to throw some sunlight into the shadows. Meanwhile, the band often employs minor key changes offset by major key flourishes, as if it had a split personality whose sides are constantly struggling for supremacy. There’s always been something thrilling about pitting light against darkness and good versus evil that appeals to the human psyche. Editors find that chord and create highly engaging music around it.