Introducing...

(Morning Star, Saturday 30 April 2005)

IN PROFILE: Editors

IN 2005, it's easier than ever to be a jaded music fan.

The new Smiths, the new Joy Division, the new Oasis, the old Oasis - nothing seems fresh and new and it's hard to take.

But, looking past the music press hyperbole and the horror of music television, there actually are some diamonds in the dirt - a few genuinely soulful acts, boasting melodies of an indie fan's dreams and the talent of an epic superstar act in the making.

Editors are just such a band. Signed to traditionally dancier label Kitchenware and made up of Ed Lay, Chris Urbanowicz, Tom Smith and Russell Leach, these university friends are about to hit the big time - and with good reason.

Freakishly tall singer Smith is dismissive of their hailing as "the new Joy Division" by all neophiliacs, but there is a presence onstage - a gait, an expression - that seems even to the passing observer to be directly influenced by Ian Curtis.

Despite being hailed by rock luminary and New Order bassist Peter Hook as "the new Skids," the band are taking it all in their stride.

"People say that we're heavily influenced by bands like New Order and Joy Division," says guitarist Chris Urbanowicz.

"The truth is, we're too young to have known those bands when they were around. We're just hearing them now."

This could be seen as slightly disingenuous, but the music that Editors make sets them apart from the lazy comparisons which have been scatter-gunned at all new British music, from Bloc Party to the Futureheads.

Take the blissful Munich, all Smith's rumbling baritone and haunting guitars chiming through one of the singles of the year.

And then there's debut single Bullets, marking the band out as a different species from the shouty vocals and thrashy guitars of media darlings the Kaiser Chiefs, a great pop tune with brooding atmospheric overtones.

The as yet untitled album is due out later in the year and is sure to feature some intense Echo and the Bunnymen-styled moments, but so much more besides. Stop the presses.