Editors - The Weight of Your Love (Deluxe Version) (2021) [Hi-Res]

‘The Weight Of Your Love’, Editors fourth studio album and the first to feature new members Justin Lockey and Elliott Williams is, according to lead singer and songwriter Tom Smith, ‘a band record, a musical record, a rock record with a foot in that alt-rock / americana world’. Inspired by Scott Litt’s work with REM amongst others and built around a live performance approach to recording, the album contains the most strident and direct Editors songs to date. With a lyrical fascination with love in all its myriad forms, ‘whether romantic or break-up or creepy or even stalkey love’ (Tom again) and recorded in Nashville at Blackbird Studio by producer Jacquire King (Tom Waits, etc), ‘The Weight Of Your Love’ represents a new chapter for the band in more than one way.

Cast your mind back to the close of 2010. Editors had just finished another round of touring and promotion in support of their third album, 2009’s ‘In This Light And On This Evening’. Six years on from their multi-platinum debut ‘The Back Room’, the band had seen many of their contemporaries disappear from view whilst steadily building themselves into one of Europe’s biggest bands. That third album debuted at Number One in the UK charts as had its predecessor, ‘An End Has A Start’ and spawned a continent wide hit in the form of ‘Papillon’, a thunderous electro rock tune destined to force arms into the air at festivals across the continent and the first non-domestic single to debut at Number One in the Belgian singles charts where the band are arguably the biggest name in the rock world.

"Moving away from the synth-heavy sound of 2009's In This Light and on This Evening, Britain's the Editors return to the more epic, atmospheric guitar-based rock of their debut with 2013's The Weight of Your Love. However, this release is far from repetitive. Certainly, lead singer Tom Smith's baritone croon sounds as authoritative as ever, and the band has lost none of its languid '80s post-punk inclination. But at the same time, there is something less frenetic about the music here that speaks to broader artistic influences and a more mature level of songwriting. Produced by Jacquire King in Nashville, the album has a distinctly organic feel, as if it were recorded in an old theater. Adding to this tactile, less electronic sound is the choice to frame several of the songs in judicious swaths of string orchestration. The result works especially well on the album's handful of ballads, including "What Is This Thing Called Love" and "Honesty," helping them achieve a deeply moving, cinematic quality. The band also delves into several long-form, slow-burn rock epics that are definitely worth your attention, even if their sustained drama plays out at a more sinister pace. Songs like leadoff "The Weight" and "Sugar" are thoughtfully arranged; they take their time to fully engage your adoration. That said, adoration is exactly the emotion evoked by such deliciously addictive pop moments as the lead single, "A Ton of Love," which brings to mind the passionate, soulful rock of U2 and Echo & the Bunnymen. In fact, on "A Ton of Love," Smith chants the word "Desire" as if in direct homage to U2's 1988 single. A grandiose shout-out for sure, but ultimately, a fitting one." (Matt Collar, AMG)

Tom Smith, vocals, guitar, piano
Russel Leetch, bass, synthesizer
Justin Lockey, guitar
Eliott Williams, synthesizer, guitar
Ed Lay, drums