Editors – “Marching Orders”

Putting one’s money where one’s mouth is, or rather contributing what comes out of a singer’s mouth (and band) to a good cause, is something that many musical outfits do to great effect. Editors are a band who subscribe to that way of thinking, their cause being Oxfam UK, which is an organization they’ve been involved with since 2007 (at least). They will send three hundred hand-stamped 12″ test pressings of their new single “Marching Orders” to selected Oxfam stores in the UK, Germany and Belgium, with all the proceeds from the sales donated. And while the main lyric of the new tune is “Try to give more than we take,” this is not a precious or twee band in either presentation or visuals. Editors music drives hard, with some sharp hard edges and excellent slip & slide. NME called their tunes “dark disco” when reviewing their first album The Back Room maybe because of the courtship of moogy synthesizer and edgy guitar. Traces of Echo and the Bunnymen, R.E.M., Interpol do reside here, and watching the video for “Marching Orders,” I spied some Joe Cocker stance from singer Tom Smith.

Truly, though, what struck me was the stark beauty of this Editors video and how it enhances the song. Way back in the day when music videos were actually bitty slices of promotional material to sell some songs and full-length vinyl (look at what was happening then 1981), the focus was normally on putting the song front and center. “Marching Orders” is in no way lost to the visuals here, but Rahi Rezvani‘s conception and direction of this just-under 8-minute clip is stunning. He also brought a similar black and white storyboard wonder to the recent “No Harm”.

The really great coming together of sound, sight and sentiment for giving is an awesome sign for the good stuff artists can do in this time of media movement. If Taylor Swift can sway an Apple, and all manner of bands can move small mountains while making some music, thereby influencing us all to make a difference, well then hell, let’s go!