Editors’ debut album The Back Room was a hit in their native UK, but it wasn’t until second album An End Has A Start that the band found chart success outside of Europe. Both albums explored similar themes of death, time and humanity, but End cleaned up the messiness around the edges, and with an album-opening statement-single like Smokers Outside The Hospital, it was a guaranteed winner.

The band have recently dropped third album In This Light And On This Evening, and are due back in Australia over the summer, making appearances at the Falls and Sunset Sounds festivals. FasterLouder spoke to drummer Edward Lay about the new album, and why playing live makes him happy.

The new album landed in October, and Lay reports they’ve already been playing tracks from it. “Yeah, we’re sort of re-learning it as we go, playing 4 or 5 songs at festival shows. It’s weird, because we played all the songs live when we recorded them, which is far different from the last one.

“The last two albums; there were lots of layers, but this time we’re actually turning it into a live performance, with all the little anomalies that go with that. What we’ve done with this recording, it sounds like there’s a real live spark on it, which is exciting, and something that was a little dumbed down on the last record.”

There’s been another change for Editors – the new album features a lot of synth and other electronic instruments. “Yeah, that just kinda happened internally for us. Also, our choice of producer allowed us to discover new thing. Flood [Mark ‘Flood’ Ellis – NIN, Depeche Mode] has made some really exciting electronic records in the past. But even from the original demos, we were definitely going down that path.

“We just found there was a certain limit with the instruments we played at the start. At the end of the day, we just wanted to make a record which we really enjoy listening to ourselves, and we did that here.”

Yet another difference in the recording is that when it first began, the band members were living on opposite sides of the world. But according to Lay, that wasn’t as big an obstacle as it seems. “It was actually very similar to how we used to work, when we were living in the same house. Someone would come up with something, put it on a mini-disc, hand it out to everyone, and we’d come up with stuff on our own. The process this time wasn’t that different, it was just a longer commute,” he laughs.

Frontman Tom Smith, who is responsible for most of the band’s dark and insightful lyrics, has had a child since the last album was released, and I wondered if there was ever a temptation to do a lighter album after that? “Not at all – I guess if anything, it got slightly darker. Lack of sleep became a contributing factor.

“This is the sort of music that interests Tom, interests all of us. The stuff that’s darker and deeper, but can also have quite a lot of humour. We have an awesome time with dark things that make you laugh, like horror movies – there’s such an adrenaline rush.”

The band is currently on a massive tour, which will take them all the way through to mid-December, but Lay reports that the touring fatigue is something they’ve gotten used to. “You always get a little bit tired, but we’re so used to it now. When I woke up yesterday, the day after our first proper run through, my rib-cage ached. That’s never happened before – maybe I’ve forgotten how to play? All the time, we’re finding new ways to ache,” he laughs again.

After Christmas, Editors will be swinging our way for sets at the Falls and Sunset Sounds festivals, and Lay confirms there should be sideshows along the way. Will the newer electronic songs sit alongside the older guitar-driven numbers in a live set? “Yeah, it’s been working better than we expected,” confirms Lay. “We were concerned that we’d get out there and not get a response, since we were doing festivals, and not our own shows, and so mostly people know the previous singles. But the reactions have been very positive, right from the start.

“That’s one of my favourite things about playing live – I love the audience reaction. Some of the guys in the band, I think, might prefer to be in the studio trying things out. But I love being on stage, feeding off it a little more every night. Some nights are more special than others, but I genuinely feel every night that I’m in an exciting situation, and that makes me really happy.”

In This Light And On This Evening is out now through Sony Music. Editors play Falls, Sunset Sounds and Southbound, with a couple of headline shows on the side.

Wed 30 December – Falls Festival, Lorne
Thurs 31 December – Falls Festival, Marion Bay
Mon 4 January – Palace Theatre, Melbourne
Wed 6 January – The Metro Theatre, Sydney
Thurs 7 January – Sunset Sounds, Brisbane
Sat 9 January – Southbound Festival, Perth