The Back Room
Encyclopedia
The Back Room is the debut album
by British
post-punk revival
band Editors
, released on 25 July 2005. It entered the UK Album Charts at #13 in July 2005, before peaking at #2 in January 2006.
The album was nominated for the 2006 Mercury Prize
.
and Germany
, the album was re-released in a limited, Festival Edition CD/DVD set including a 50 minute concert recorded at Paradiso
in Amsterdam
, on 30 January 2006.
Editors received substantial critical acclaim for their release of The Back Room. NME
gave it a rating of 8/10 saying "Never before have doom and gloom sounded so surprisingly uplifting and hopeful" and that Editors "have created a debut that will endure." Drowned in Sound
gave The Back Room a rating of 9/10, citing, "this is a record many people will be able to live inside for a very long time." The album also received a 2006 Mercury Prize
nomination.
The song "Munich
" was featured on the Xbox 360
game Saints Row, as well as on the multi platform game FIFA Street 2
.
E!Online has written that it's "a fine album that proves you can look backward while paving the way forward", giving an album score 91 of 100. Drowned In Sound
has written that it's "how Interpol would sound like if they dealt with universal themes and reflection rather than singing about fellatio fantasies with Stella, or their length of loves". AllMusic Guide said that "Alternative rock hasn't seen anything like this since the release of Turn on the Bright Lights". NME
wrote that "this is debut that will endure" and The Guardian
wrote "The longer you listen, the better they become". However Pitchfork Media
has written that "Editors sound like an earnest rock band who grew up loving the same bands as the current batch of revivalists, but beyond the workmanlike interpretations of their heroes, it's hard to swallow".
, Smith
, Urbanowicz
.
Live at the Paradiso, Amsterdam - January 30th, 2006
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
post-punk revival
Post-punk revival
The post-punk revival was a development in alternative rock of the late 20th and early 21st centuries in which bands took inspiration from the original sounds and aesthetics of garage rock of the 1960s and post-punk and New Wave of the late 1970s...
band Editors
Editors
Editors are a British indie rock band based in Birmingham, who formed in 2002. Previously known as Pilot, The Pride and Snowfield, the band consists of Tom Smith , Chris Urbanowicz , Russell Leetch and Ed Lay .Editors have so far released two platinum studio...
, released on 25 July 2005. It entered the UK Album Charts at #13 in July 2005, before peaking at #2 in January 2006.
The album was nominated for the 2006 Mercury Prize
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...
.
Overview
A limited special two disc edition of The Back Room was released in the UK, the second disc (called Cuttings) comprising unused tracks from the album recording sessions and B-sides. In the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the album was re-released in a limited, Festival Edition CD/DVD set including a 50 minute concert recorded at Paradiso
Paradiso (Amsterdam)
Paradiso is an iconic rock music venue and cultural center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.-History:It is housed in a converted former church building that dates from the nineteenth century and that was used until 1965 as the meeting hall for a liberal Dutch religious group known as the "Vrije...
in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, on 30 January 2006.
Editors received substantial critical acclaim for their release of The Back Room. NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
gave it a rating of 8/10 saying "Never before have doom and gloom sounded so surprisingly uplifting and hopeful" and that Editors "have created a debut that will endure." Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
gave The Back Room a rating of 9/10, citing, "this is a record many people will be able to live inside for a very long time." The album also received a 2006 Mercury Prize
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...
nomination.
The song "Munich
Munich (song)
"Munich" is a song by British post-punk revival band Editors and is featured on their 2005 debut album, The Back Room. It was originally released 18 April 2005 as the second single from the band...
" was featured on the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
game Saints Row, as well as on the multi platform game FIFA Street 2
FIFA Street 2
FIFA Street 2 is the sequel to the video game FIFA Street. A new "trick stick beat" system was introduced and new authentic tricks were also introduced. The game is available on the GameCube, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PSP, Xbox...
.
Reception
The Back Room received generally positive reviews with metacritic score of 76 based on 23 reviews.E!Online has written that it's "a fine album that proves you can look backward while paving the way forward", giving an album score 91 of 100. Drowned In Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
has written that it's "how Interpol would sound like if they dealt with universal themes and reflection rather than singing about fellatio fantasies with Stella, or their length of loves". AllMusic Guide said that "Alternative rock hasn't seen anything like this since the release of Turn on the Bright Lights". NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
wrote that "this is debut that will endure" and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
wrote "The longer you listen, the better they become". However Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
has written that "Editors sound like an earnest rock band who grew up loving the same bands as the current batch of revivalists, but beyond the workmanlike interpretations of their heroes, it's hard to swallow".
Track listing
All tracks by Lay, LeetchRussell Leetch
Russell Jonathan Leetch is the bass guitarist for Birmingham-based indie rock band Editors. He studied music technology at Staffordshire University where he met his fellow Editors band members. He went to secondary school at Arden School, Knowle.He used to work with bandmate Tom Smith in a call...
, Smith
Tom Smith (musician)
Thomas Michael Henry Smith is an English musician. He is lead singer, lyricist, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist for the Birmingham-based indie rock band Editors....
, Urbanowicz
Chris Urbanowicz
Christopher Dominic Urbanowicz is the lead guitarist and synthesizer player of the British indie rock band Editors. He studied music technology at Staffordshire University for three years with the other members of Editors...
.
Live at the Paradiso, Amsterdam - January 30th, 2006
Credits
- EditorsEditorsEditors are a British indie rock band based in Birmingham, who formed in 2002. Previously known as Pilot, The Pride and Snowfield, the band consists of Tom Smith , Chris Urbanowicz , Russell Leetch and Ed Lay .Editors have so far released two platinum studio...
– Art Direction, Design - Jim AbbissJim AbbissJim Abbiss is a British music producer, best known for his work on records including Arctic Monkeys' Mercury Music Prize winning debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, Ladytron's Witching Hour, Sneaker Pimps' debut Becoming X, Editors' debut The Back Room, Kasabian's...
– Producer, Engineer - Garret Lee – Producer, Engineer
- Gavin Monaghan – Producer, Engineer
- Loz Brazil – Engineer
- Ewan Davis – Engineer
- Andy Taylor – Engineer, Digital Editing
- Cenzo Townshend – Mixing
- Amy E. Bartell – Photography
Chart performance
| Album Chart | Peak position |
Sales | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
2 | 500,000+ | Platinum |
| Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... |
53 | 15,000+ | Gold |
| France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
107 | — | — |
| Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
23 | 7,500+ | Gold |
| Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
30 | — | — |
| US Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
14 | — | — |
| US Independent Albums Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
21 | — | — |
| World World World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth.... |
— | 1,000,000+ | — |