Editors – In Dream

It's overcooked and unashamedly melodramatic. Tom Smith still, at times, sounds like he's trying to declaim the opening line to Bowie's Cat People ("See these eyes so greeeen…") an octave beneath even the Dame's am-dram delivery. And, in how it defaults back to lumpen, underwritten anthemics every time it mugs you with a good 'un, it really can’t decide whether it wants the cosy comfort of the template or the thrill of the side road.

A handful of formless mood pieces further confirm the suspicion that Editors, five albums in, are not the most naturally gifted songwriters. But (largely) ditching the guitars this time around was a smart move, and In Dream's high spots – the delicate ballad Ocean of Night (one of three tracks featuring Slowdive's Rachel Goswell – excellent here) and the 80s-influenced alt-pop of Life Is A Fear and All The Kings (shades of Psychedelic Furs) – are surprising and intriguing. [Gary Kaill]