The Best New Band I've Heard in Years

I'm completely in love with Editors. No, not actual editors (although having been one myself, I can see why that's a temptation). I'm talking about the Manchester-based new band, Editors, and the brilliance that is their debut album The Back Room.

High on the strength of their first single, "Munich," which, if you haven't heard it, you must check out, I ordered The Back Room, and it's been a complete joy. Frenzied, high-pitched guitars, amazing drum work and plaintive vocals mark the fast-tempo songs. The ballads are bleak but rich. It's just a great album.

Maybe I'm so immuned to what some call "depressing" music, but the reviews I read that this is a downer of an album don't resonate with me. I think it's an incredibly tight, great-sounding record that could have been released in 1979, 1989, or today. I'm glad it's today.

If you like Joy Division, early U2, or even early Cure, you'll love this record.

Standout tracks:
Munich
Blood
All Sparks
Bullets
Open Your Arms