by Cole Makuch
Editrix’s The Big E is the perfect soundtrack to hurrying through a city. The three-piece, comprised of vocalist/guitarist Wendy Eisenberg, bassist Steve Cameron, and drummer Josh Daniel, build urgent, propulsive music with virtuosic lead guitar work and full-send riffage. Much of this record is music that you might feel compelled to blast if, say, you were given the keys to the Batmobile. However, their music is constantly shifting and moving, almost taking the form of precarious conversational dynamics. In moments, they create sparse soundscapes reminiscent of a quiet winter scene. The record vacillates, sometimes whiplash-inducingly, between moments of frankness, awkwardness, and humor.
The production on The Big E is predominantly true to Editrix’s three-piece live format, with few adornments. The bass is often distorted and panned opposite the guitar to embody some of the harmonic role a rhythm guitarist might take. The bespoke drum parts toe the line between jazz, punk, and theater, hitting beats between song sections that provide plenty of contrast for the record’s many moods. The guitar parts are jagged, spindly, often crunchy, and interlock playfully with the rest of the band as the group moves cohesively.
It would be impossible to describe The Big E, or any of Editrix’s records, without also highlighting the unmatched range of the rest of frontperson Wendy Eisenberg’s body of work. Eisenberg has described Editrix as a necessary dimension of a formidable and varied portfolio that includes solo guitar and vocal work (including the 2024 solo release Viewfinder and Accept When with saxophonist Caroline Davis) as well gigs across the spectrum of New York City’s avant garde scene that run the range from an adaptation of Music for 18 Musicians to curating an improvised ensemble in tribute to free jazz guitarist Derek Bailey. Likewise, Editrix continues to escape classification and pushes the three-piece ‘rock band’ format to compelling heights.