Live Concert Photography: Editors with Heaven at Irving Plaza 5/15/18

Live Concert Photography: Editors with Heaven at Irving Plaza 5/15/18

Currently comprised of Tom Smith (vocals, guitar and piano), Russell Leech (bass, synths and backing vocals), Ed Lay (drums, percussion and backing vocals), Justin Lockey (lead guitar) and Elliott Williams (keys, synths, guitars and backing vocals), the Stafford, UK-based quintet Editors can trace their origins back to when the band formed when its original lineup which featured Smith, Leech, Gerraint Owen (drums) and Chris Urbanowicz (guitar,synth) met while they were all studying music technology at Staffordshire University back in 2002 under the name Pilot, before recognizing that there was a 70s Scottish pop act with the same name. Of course, since then they’ve gone through a series of name changes before settling on Editors — and they’ve gone through a massive lineup change that found the band writing, recording and performing as a quintet over the past couple of years. And yet, they’ve managed an incredible run of critically and commercially successful releases. 2005’s full-length debut The Back Room had two smash hit singles, fan favorites “Munich” and “Blood,” and as a result, the album was nominated for Mercury Prize. 2006’s sophomore effort An End Has A Start had a Top 10 single “Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors” and as a result, the album landed at Number 1 on the UK Charts. An End Has A Start was also nominated for a Brit Award for Best British Band. 2009’s In This Light and on This Evening landed at #1 on the UK charts, while 2013’s The Weight of Your Love and 2015’s In Dream was released to acclaim.

The band’s sixth full-length album Violence was released earlier this year, and the album will further cement the band’s long-held reputation for a subtly modern take on the New Wave that’s been compared to the likes of Echo and the Bunnymen, Joy Division, Interpol, The Chameleons, U2 and at points Coldplay — although interestingly enough the band has publicly cited Elbow‘s Asleep in the Back and R.E.M’s Murmur as major influences on their sound and approach.

Unsurprisingly, the members of the Stafford-based indie rock quintet have been touring to support their latest album, and their career spanning NYC area headlining stop at Irving Plaza last month, was their first time back in the area in over a decade. Local shoegazers Heaven opened. Check out photos from the show below.

Opening the night was the Brooklyn-based Heaven. Currently comprised of a core group featuring founding members Matt Sumrow (vocals, guitar) and Mikey Jones (drums) and Liz Loshe (keys, vocals), the Brooklyn-based shoegazers Heaven can trace their origins to when its founding duo started the band in the wake of touring and recording with the likes of Dean & Britta, Swervedriver, Ambulance LTD, The Comas, The Big Sleep and others. And with the release of 2013’s full-length debut Telepathic Love, the Brooklyn-based shoegazers quickly won attention for a sound that they describe on their Facebook page as “a romantic clash between your Dad’s long-lost favorite psych record and the soundtrack to a John Hughes film, Heaven ride a massive sonic wave in delivering their dear and dreamy tracks.”

The band’s self-produced sophomore effort, All Love Is Blue was released earlier this year through Portland, OR-based indie label Little Cloud Records, and as the members of the band mention on their Facebook page, their long anticipated sophomore album finds the band expanding upon their sound and songwriting approach while retaining elements of the sound that won them attention several years ago.