Editors are bringing their English brand of indie rock to Milwaukee for the first time.
With popular and distinctive openers Hot Hot Heat and Louis, XIV rounding out the bill, the Editors' stop at The Pabst on Sunday, Jan. 27 promises to be one of the most solid tours to hit the city in months.
"We've never been there before, so we're excited," says bassist Russell Leetch in a phone interview during a stint in New York City. "It's been a good tour. We love coming over to the States, because it's like starting fresh. We're more established in the U.K. so it's like starting over when we come here. We've been playing in new places, and meeting new people, so it's been pretty cool."
Editors made an impressive debut in 2005 with the critical and commercial success of "The Back Room." The dark, yet hopeful disc received a nomination for the coveted Mercury Prize (like America's Grammys) and gave them the fortune of global success without sacrificing their artistic integrity.
The band's latest album, "An End Has A Start," released in 2007, shows them pushing their potential to new limits. Editors have been touring extensively in support of the album since last May with only a short break for Christmas.
The Birmingham band has stabilized its position as one of the rejuvenating forces in modern post-punk, carrying on in the great tradition of bands like The Chameleons and early U2. Critics and casual listeners have been quick to compare them to Joy Division, and their disciples Interpol; a comparison that seems unavoidable.
"We're talking about it all day," says Leetch. "It's part of the parcel, I suppose. We have a baritone singer, and that's about it. I think we're Editors by our own right. I'd liken it to Radiohead and Muse. When Muse first came out, they were always compared to Radiohead because of their vocals. But the music was very different. I suppose we'll get further away from that by the third and fourth record."
In fact, says Leetch, he and his bandmates don't love Joy Division nearly as much as you might think.
"We like The Cure and Echo & the Bunnymen way more than Joy Division. I think we've always liked of a lot of the American bands a lot more than the U.K. ones, to be honest. It's always been that way, with bands like Nirvana and The Walkmen. I think we're just attracted to the more spacious sounding record."
With a stunning and cinematic sound, Editors can hold their own against contemporaries such as Snow Patrol and The Futureheads, deftly crossing moody atmospherics with sweeping melodies that evoke emotion.
As with many bands in the U.K. -- where singles are taken seriously and label deals call for exclusive material on singles -- Editors (who previously recorded as Snowfield) possess a back catalog of b-sides; an array of tunes less familiar to audiences in the States, where the singles are not released. So, folks at The Pabst might get to hear a few unexpected things.
"We're going to start throwing in some other songs," Leetch says. "Not brand new ones but some b-sides that we've never done before. We've talked about it, and would love to eventually put out a collection of all of them. But that would be much further down the line, probably after album four, if we get there. It definitely will be at some point."
Gigs in the U.S. finish up in mid-February with a show in Las Vegas, after which Editors head off to dates in London, Spain, Portugal and France. With promotion for "An End Has A Start" still in full effect, work on the third album will have to wait a while longer.
"It'll be a little more towards the end of the year that we'll be looking to that. We've got some more touring planned, then we'll actually have a break."
