Editors

On this third album, Editors expand their sonic vocabulary by supplementing -- at times, even replacing -- straightforward Brit-rock riffing with dark, '80s new-wave keyboards that alternately stab ("Big Exit") and surge ("You Don't Know Love"). The change in emphasis is jarring at first, but embrace your inner goth and you'll realize that the band's signifiers -- frontman Tom Smith's outsize baritone, a penchant for high drama -- remain intact, and on the rain-soaked, club-friendly "Papillon," the added black nail polish even seems to give them more depth.

By Josh Modell