Editors have shared a slickly-choreographed video for their new single Frankenstein, which is out now via Play It Again Sam. The kinetically crackling track, described by frontman Tom Smith as “a song of joy and escapism – a cartoon song for the freaks, the different and for the night,” comes ahead of a summer filled with festival performances across Europe, and sees the band continue their dazzlingly prolific, recent creative streak. Watch it via YouTube below.
The video, directed by Greg Ohrel, is a suitably uncanny, modern take on Mary Shelley’s classic Frankenstein. It follows a policeman through his daily routine of mundanity and ultra violence. Breaking this cycle is his passion for the dance routines of a recently deceased pop star. He makes the decision to bring her back to life, exhuming her body and uploading her old dance routines into her cadaver. He lives happily with his zombie bride for a giddily happy period, their dance routines weaving into his daily existence. Heartbreakingly, she gains sentience and he’s forced to make the toughest decision of his life. Greg says “We’ve been so lucky to work with Editors on this. They’ve been supportive throughout, with a crazy idea like this it only works if you go 100% and they made that happen. This is about fan obsession where we’ve turned the extreme into the ridiculous!”
Frankenstein has already been causing a storm amongst fans, with the band using it to close their festival sets in recent weeks. The track is a bold, unabashed embrace of the electronic extremes of the band’s palette. With its eerie intro, 4×4 beat and dramatic, distorted vocals, it explodes into the kind of massive chorus Editors have become synonymous with since they burst onto the scene in 2005. A call to the dancefloor, frontman Tom Smith’s refrain of “it goes off” couldn’t be more fitting.
Six studio albums into their existence and Editors sound as energized as ever. Frankenstein follows the release of ‘The Blanck Mass Sessions’ last month, a deconstructed electronica-infused version of 2018’s ‘Violence’; another top 10 record to add to their impressive back catalogue, which includes two #1 albums and 3 platinum certifications.
A sold out UK tour last year culminating in an acclaimed show at O2 Academy Brixton followed a string of festival performances, including supporting The Cure at BST in Hyde Park and headlining the Werchter Classic, topping a bill that also contained heavyweights Kraftwerk and The National.
You can purchase and stream Frankenstein here.
