EBM
by Editors
  • Record Label: PIAS
  • Release Date: Sep 23, 2022
User Score
5.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 4 out of 10
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  1. Noiseblock
    Jul 23, 2023
    4
    A major letdown, even though not necessarily an unexpected one. Timetested outfits such as Editors bringing a new member to the team - in this case Benjamin Powers - is sure to be quite a challenge, even though Tom Smith & Co already had the time spent on Violence and the years since then to work things out to form a cohesive band-idea. However, something about this mixture was deeplyA major letdown, even though not necessarily an unexpected one. Timetested outfits such as Editors bringing a new member to the team - in this case Benjamin Powers - is sure to be quite a challenge, even though Tom Smith & Co already had the time spent on Violence and the years since then to work things out to form a cohesive band-idea. However, something about this mixture was deeply muddled as EBM turned out to be a frustrating, at times abrasve, mess of an album. Even on its first rotation, it gets abundantly clear that this album has exactly one mode of operation and sticks to it to a tee. Have the as usual very reliable vocals of Tom Smith and then push them out of focus by a shoddy mix of fairly limited arrangements of snythie-beeps and trills over a stock beat and sometimes some chord-progressions on guitar - remember, Editors was once a band with a guitar-driven sound. I am not sure what this is meant to accomplish and I am not sure whether either Editors or Benjamin Powers truly find a middleground to benefit from this. Smith feels drowned out, Powers overpowering and overbearing. Smith is too smooth and sleek to offset the abrasiveness Powers. None of this gels together as one cohesive idea while the production and instrumentation are competent yet never truly attempt anything outside the firmly established wheelhouse. EBM in this way is something of a direct continuation of the arguably also quite one-trick Violence which showed more experimentation and enough restraint in the right places, but which has also soured for me over the last couple of years. Arguably for a similar reason: because it is neither interesting enough as a whole album, nor does it offer standalone tracks that rise above its fairly generic muck. Sadly, it cannot be even classified as the "new idea" of Editors so that change is on the horizon. No, this is the "new idea" of Editors since at least two albums and if this is any sort of indication, the band's audience is stuck with this sound for probably a while. However happy Editors and BP may be to have found each other, for me this sounds like a grim prospect for their future under the Editors-banner.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. musicOMH.com
    Sep 28, 2022
    70
    Not all their ventures are successful, but with a final play on words it’s more Power to Editors’ elbows, for once EBM takes a firm grip on its listener it does not let them go.
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  2. Mojo
    Sep 23, 2022
    60
    Editors have hatched a perturbed and maximalist affair whose thundering algorithms target the darkest, least inhibited corners of the dancefloor. [Oct 2022, p.90]
  3. Under The Radar
    Sep 23, 2022
    75
    EBM is a fine album and despite Smith’s predilection for dark portentous lyrics, it certainly sounds like the band had fun exploring the different possibilities the addition of Powers has afforded them.
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