Twenty one years on from the release of their debut album, EDITORS show no signs of slowing down as they open the new Warehouse venue at Villa Park.
“When the time comes, That you’re no longer there, Fall down to my knees. Begin my nightmare” is quite the opening line to start a set with. Given the packed room that it is delivered to in the form of “The Racing Rats”, EDITORS frontman Tom Smith can sleep easy a good while longer.
Formed whilst various members were in University and living in the city back in the early 2000s, the band are a strong choice to christen the latest addition to the second city’s live music venues. Nominally a fan-zone for the adjacent Villa Park it adapts well to a gig setting, not just for the excellent sound system, plentiful bar and food options and ease of access, but also an excellent air-con system – essential in the ongoing heatwave persisting outside.
Kicking things off, London four piece WORLD NEWS offer an expansive sound that cherry picks from across the 1980s and 1990s for a guitar based sound that is timeless and easy on the ear. Part indie, anthemic jangle, post-punk and as the set progresses increasingly evolving into a wider Floydian shoegaze haze, their seven song set is well received. Well worth catching if they are local.
On the dot of 8pm (a very civilised time for older gig goers), the lights dim and that opening line from “The Racing Rats” rings out in Tom Smith’s distinctive voice. The six piece are five dates into the European summer festival merry-go-round, this being the only stand-alone headline show of the summer. It’s apparent from the off that they are up for the occasion, Smith an evermoving presence upfront flanked by co-founder Russell Leetch on bass and Justin Lockey casting magic with his guitar. Holding things together at the back, drummer Ed Lay, joined on adjacent risers by multi-instrumentalists Elliott Williams and Nicholas Willes, offers the foundation for a set that draws across the band’s back catalogue. And you don’t get to maintain a two decade career with seven albums under the belt without having some belters in your back pocket – dispensing “Munich” as second song into the set indicates a band with confidence, justified on the strength of recent single “Call It In” that follows. Whilst unmistakeably EDITORS, it offers a maturity and urgency with a return to a guitar sound after electronic experimentation with last album EBM. Addressing the overwhelming noise and dread of modern life, it claustrophobically builds before light shines in. As a taster of the new album, it bodes well.
With a set curated from all their albums to cater for fans old and new, EDITORS move between the Gothic post-punk of the early albums and more recent electronic based material with ease. Lit by subdued colours, the band are happy to let the songs do the talking, the only pauses between songs being for the swapping of many instruments for Williams and Willes (shout out to the road crew looking after all of these). From the beats of “Karma Climb” via the icy sparseness of “No Harm” to the brash guitars of “Bullet”, their debut song back in 2005, the sonic palette may vary but all remains distinctively EDITORS.
And on home turf with a partisan crowd (those wearing EDITORS t-shirts comfortably outnumber those that don’t) it goes without saying that the energy on stage is matched by the rest of the room, the crowd ebbing and flowing with the songs, arms frequently raised and songs sung back with conviction. Thank God for that efficient air-conditioning!
All too quickly the notes of closer “The Weight of the World” are left ringing as the band exits, quickly to return for the synth driven “All the Kings” and the Europop vibes of “Papillon”, the energy of the song offering the perfect euphoric close to the set. And all this done before 10pm. Marvellous!
EDITORS play festival dates in the UK and Europe throughout the summer before a headline tour in Europe and the UK in January to March 2027 to support the release of new album “Surface, Echo & Sound” on 30th October 2026 https://editors-official.com/
Words and pictures: Geoff Shaw https://www.instagram.com/gsmusicphotos/