I’ve had this album a long time, but the long introductions and the fact no song jumps straight out as Editors-esque besides Papillon (which I think is possibly their best single) I’ve glossed over it many times.

Having heard the Editors influence in Joy Division, it’s hard to escape the similarities on this album. Like I said, when I first got this album I skipped though songs as it really is a departure from ‘The Back Room’ and ‘An End Has A Start’. If you had all three Editors albums on a playlist you could probably pick out six of these the tracks on this album, due to their different sound. Bricks and Mortar and Papillon are the songs that stick to their previous tried and tested methods.

The title track opens the album is completely different to anything they had done before. The vocals are much deeper than on any other Editors songs are the similarity to Ian Curtis is haunting.

Bricks and Mortar and Papillon that follow are much more from the expected Editors mould. Papillon is one of their best tracks it’s the only real ‘stand out single’ from the album. The rest seemingly lack the ‘radio-friendliness’ to become singles.

At this point it’s obvious that the biggest departure from An End Has A Start is the change in direction, gone are the guitar rifts that defined songs such as Munich and Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors to be replaced with synthesizers. I define my musical tastes as ‘guitar music’ and Editor’s previous efforts have very much fallen into that category. This album less so, but it move them even closer to Joy Division.

You Don’t Know Love has massive potential and The Boxer teases seeing the guitars make a welcome return, meaning it sits alongside the other two I mentioned that could have appeared on the earlier albums. However the rest of the album is very skip-able.

As an album, In This Light And On This Evening is a great exhibition of Editors talents, it’s one that holds up well when all tracks are present, but start showing off the songs on their own (Papillon aside) they start to fall down. It’s a brilliant bit of music to listen to start to finish, and is possibly their strongest album, but its lacks the 3 minute pop song that has defined the Editors so far, and I doubt very many of these songs are cheered for from the back of a concert. It’s the album that puts them a lot closer to Joy Division and whilst that’s not a bad thing it does push them far away from what makes Editors – well Editors.

I must admit that I am annoyed with myself that I’ve left this album unplayed for so often. I have enjoyed listening to it but I find myself missing the guitar rifts and mental drum work that has captivated me every time I have seen them play. This really is the difficult third album.

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