This is the second version of this show and after playing it through, you'll understand why the original one had to be nuked and replaced. Comparatively speaking, there's no argument about which is better. About an hour after the orignal broadcast that I grabbed from Slovakian radio, this one aired in Lithuania. It's the same set but presented in a very different way. I managed to locate and rip the highest quality audio stream during the broadcast, which means that you now have the best sounding version of the set outside of the band actually giving us the digital recordings (very unlikely). Also, the station decided to just play it all in one go, with no interruptions and no idents over the top. This rarely happens, this time around it did. From the creepy, unsettling intro to Heart Attack right through until the final notes of ITLAOTE. Just the music. Bliss.
Broadcast on the 2nd of October and courtesy of LRT Opus in Lithuania, this is
Editors live from Factory Rehearsal Studios in Bristol. Unfortunately, I
have no idea right now as to exactly when it took place. Hannah and I
have been thrashing this out over DMs, and from what we're guessing this
was probably recorded and then distributed to various stations around
Europe as promo? We also think it was done prior to the competition
winners' rehearsal session that had an audience on the 20th of
September. Whatever the truth of the situation, this is now the first
time that we've heard Blanck Mass performing as part of Editors, as well
as welcoming back Justin Lockey to the fold after a summer of Nic
Willes surfing the fretboards all summer.
It actually has a very "rehearsal room" feel to it, with Tom's vocals being much more relaxed than usual. He sounds more comfortable, which is not something we're used to when he's on a stage in a venue full of people watching. As for the new songs, they sound amazing. Having lived with the studio takes for a little while now, I wondered how they would pull off the more chaotic instances that occur in them when they get played live. Songs like Picturesque have so many elements going off at the same time, but they did a great job here. The vocal effect of a megaphone on Tom's voice instantly reminds me of Orange Crush by REM. The two older tracks have been given a new look, and it feel like they've moved them up a weight class in terms of their punching power.
All in all, this is a fascinating document of a band transitioning into something new (again). Enjoy the music ;)
MP3s (new source)
Heart Attack (with full intro) - download here
Strawberry Lemonade - download here
Bones - download hereKarma Climb - download here
Picturesque - download here
In This Light and on This Evening - download herebrought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
