That Joy Division were the best British band of the last two decades of the 20th Century is beyond question for many people, especially those of us from Manchester. So it's not surprising that very few of their imitators have come anywhere near impressing us. At least until Editors came along with stunning singles like Munich and Blood and now this debut album.
They may be Brummies, but they have the desolation of Joy Division running through their veins (unlike love, according to Blood) and singer Tom Smith has the Ian Curtis 'voice' down pat.
"People are fragile things, you should know by now/Be careful what you put them though," he sings on the really rather good single Munich, and while his lyrics may not be quite as scary or incomprehensible as Curtis's prose, they are certainly engaging enough, especially when wrapped round the soundscapes that Editors put together.
The album cover shows what looks like a gloomily-empty warehouse and listening to The Back Room transports you to that warehouse and leaves you there in the dark. On your own. Not that it is a completely soul-destroying experience of course, far from it, as Editors have got many strings to their bow, with Fingers In The Factories jerking along at several different paces, often all at the same time.
At first listen, The Back Room can seem to be a dour place to be, but there's too many little snatches of pop melodies and punky riffs thrown in there to be boring, as shown on the sparky Bullets. You still get the feeling like this is probably the wrong time of year for this kind of music, which begs to be listening to on a cold and rainy evening rather than lying on the beach, but at least it makes for a nice change from the summery pop.
The hype building up around Editors should see them through any weather-related schenanigans thankfully, and for once that hype seems to be justified as The Back Room is one of the finest indie debut albums of 2005 and Joy Division fans even have to begrudgingly buy themselves a copy. They certainly should anyway...