Editors Announce Eighth Studio Album, Share Single ‘The Rush’

The album arrives a year after frontman Tom Smith released his debut solo record.

UK indie act Editors have revealed plans for the release of their eighth studio album, Surface, Echo & Sound, set for release via Play It Again Sam on Friday 30 October.

After collaborating with electronic producer Benjamin John Power (aka Blanck Mass) on 2022’s EBM, the band have returned to their roots for Surface, Echo & Sound. Frontman Tom Smith brought a selection of songs to the band, and together, they tried to see what they could come up with.

“It was a very productive summer,” says Smith. “The sun was out for the most part, we were in greenest Gloucestershire, not far from where I live, on this innocuous little industrial estate – it was pretty much the opposite of being in Berghain!”

Alongside the announcement of Surface, Echo & Sound, Editors have shared the album’s second single, ‘The Rush’.

Smith describes the track as an imagined bar scene of two people talking about life, drinking and thinking about all the ups and downs. “That idea of finding comfort in people close to me, friends and loved ones and family, is a theme that comes up all the time. It’s a theme that is in everything to a degree,” he explains.

‘The Rush’ also features Smith on mandolin, an instrument that provides a more organic core to Surface, Echo & Sound. “It’s not used in a folky kind of way, but it brings a warm element that can spike through anything in the mix,” says the band’s guitarist Justin Lockey, who also recorded and produced the album. “As a texture, it’s definitely a big character on this record. A lot of the rhythms come from the mandolin and the acoustic as much as they do from the drums.”

The single is accompanied by a music video shot in Tokyo and directed by Henry Ehara.

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Formed over two decades ago, Editors have blazed a path of top 10 albums, including two #1 records – 2007’s An End Has a Start and 2009’s In This Light and In This Evening – hit singles, and sold-out tours.

The Birmingham outfit has continued to evolve and experiment with each album over the journey, with Surface, Echo & Sound offering fans another collection of catchy guitar songs.

‘The Rush’ by Editors is out now. Listen here. Surface, Echo & Sound arrives Friday 30 October via Play It Again Sam. Pre-save here

Surface, Echo & Sound

1. Surface, Echo & Sound

2. Call It In

3. The Rush

4. Rescue

5. Shadow

6. Real

7. Happiness

8. Much Love

9. Butterfly Wings

10. Seriously

11. The Hills We Died Upon