Dark and complex, yet jazzy and quirky

Editrix is a three piece band that features vocalist and guitarist Wendy Eisenberg, bassist Steve Cameron and drummer Josh Daniel. This New England based industrial rock group originally established itself in 2018 including elements of jazz, punk, grunge and even a little bit of old school rock. Their previous projects include their 2019 EP Talk To Me and their 2021 album Tell Me I’m Bad. Their latest album, Editrix II: Editrix Goes To Hell, was released on June 3, 2022. This particular album has a darker and grungier twist compared to their previous works, not without some elements of chaotic quirkiness and complex musical patterns. 

The album opens with the title track. It begins with bright sliding electric guitar unironically correlating with jazzy cross-sticking on the drums, soon to be followed by rhythmic bass that sets the mood and the tone for the rest of the album. One can also appreciate Eisenberg’s gentle whispering soprano vocals that offset the experimental rock and roll instrumentals. 

The following track, “The Hunt” proves to be much darker, with elements of Nu Metal with changing time signatures, tempo changes and modulating keys. The grungy distorted jazz guitar perfectly blends with the rhythmic bass lines and the intricate rock and roll drum set beats. The vocals become even more interesting with the intricate harmonies as well as the rapping with spoken word flair. All of the songs that follow have these similar patterns, which goes to show that the album is both audibly stimulating to listen to and intellectually interesting to analyze. 

The songwriting process for the trio proves to be just as interesting as the music itself. The foundations for all of the songs are based on Cameron’s intricate bass lines that are strongly influenced by Finnish metal groups such as Demigod and Demilich. Then the bass lines are layered with intricate musical improvisation from Eisenberg (who is particularly renowned for their jazz guitar skills) and Daniel on the drums. 

The lyrics include themes of melancholy, abandonment, neglect, apathy and more. Eisenberg says, “I think I was, wittingly or unwittingly, trying to bridge the sense of abandonment that I felt in my personal life with the sense of abandonment that I felt later on, on a more structural level.” Furthermore, the lyrics were also written during social isolation during the pandemic, and the lyrics were also written with a recurring theme of hell as a religious concept. It is highly likely that the deep and dark aspects of these lyrics are heavily symbolized through the audible dissonance and unpredictability of the instrumentals. 

Overall, the darkness and the moodiness of this album is not only extremely creative and artistic, but it is also real and relatable to the band’s audience. Editrix tells tales of sorrow and angst in a way that is cleverly blended with chaos, unpredictability and quirkiness creating a healthy balance of sounds and moods throughout. It is evident that Editrix II: Editrix Goes To Hell is a work of art that will be greatly enjoyed by its listeners for many years to come.