Editors Album: “An End Has a Start”

Joy Division released "Closer", The Comsat Angels released "Sleep No More", Echo released "Heaven Up Here", PIL released "Metal Box", The Chameleons released "What does everything mean, basically" - All sophmore albums that were met with reservations when first released that are now widely viewed as classics, and, arguably as the best albums the band's ever released. While "An End Has A Start" doesn't have the 'every song could be a single' pop sensibilities of their debut, the Editors have managed to maintain their edge while exploring some new territory in writing as well as studio recording. Some of the guitar melodies, especially on the title track as well as "The Racing Rats" are as infectious as the plague was in the middle ages - again bringing to mind The Chameleons with a touch of The Mission's earlier recordings - keyboards and orchestral embellishments add an element of texture that may find many listeners revisiting the songs that didn't capture attention on the first listen just to have them become the albums 'sleepers' - (how many fell under the spell of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" the second the needle hit the groove and eventually found "She's Lost Control" to be the disc living on the record player?).... Of all the bands that have popped up in the past few years, The Editors are one of the few that listeners may become truely passionate about more so as time passes.... For those of us lucky enough to have enjoyed them from the beginning..... Let's just see what happens.....

I just did a search for The Editors here and I think it is kind of funny that Interpol's new CD turned up four positions down on the page result because the only reason an old guy like me has even heard of this band was due to my conducting a search a few weeks ago regarding the release date for Our Love to Admire. I came across an article in which the reporter claimed that The Editors were a rip-off of Interpol. Whether that is true or not I cannot say although the influence of the great band on The Editors is undeniable in the tracks of An End Has a Start. That they may possibly be derivative is irrelevant to me, however, as I love these songs and love this album. I am not surprised that another reviewer had a line from "The Weight of the World" as his title because the tune is both haunting and excellent. Really, the first time through I thought this was an uneven CD and one that I would give three stars to but I was totally wrong. I now appreciate every song and think they range from excellent to above average.

...from a sophomore effort. The Editors put out an exhilirating album with their first, The Back Room. As good as the album was, some tracks grew stale with repeat listenings. This is not the case with An End Has a Start; the tracks here only improve with repeated listenings. The three or four slow songs on this album are a HUGE improvement over songs like "Camera" from "The Back Room;" "Push Your Head Towards the Air" slowly builds to a single, electrifying moment that leaves the listener with goosebumps. Also, a nice change from many albums these days, An End Has a Start is far from front heavy. Yes, they placed their singles towards the beginnning (which are undeniably good), but the best songs are tracks 6-8: "The Racing Rats," the aforementioned "Push Your Head Towards the Air," and the explosive "Escape the Nest." Editors has also taken a great leap forward in their lyrics. Gone are the repetitive rantings of Bullets ("You don't need this disease," etc.), replaced instead by a beautiful lyrical tapestry "Standing at the edge of your town/with the skyline in your eyes/Reaching out to God/the Sun says its goodbye" from "The Racing Rats. An End Has a Start is an excellent display of growth from a talented band. Pay no heed to those drawing comparisons between U2, Coldplay, and Interpol; the Editors are their own band, and they are on their way to becomming something big.

Editors stormed onto the UK music scene in 2005 with several singles and then their impeccable debut album "The Back Room", which was released in the US in early 2006. Now comes the eagerly awaited follow-up album.

"An End Has A Start" (10 tracks, 45 min.) starts off with "Smokers Outside the Hospital Room", a departure yet ambitious tune which I find a curious choice as the album's first single, as there is no immediate hook. The title track follows, a hard charging song that ranks among the band's best. A pattern seems to follow for the remainder of the album: slower song, followed by an upbeat song: "The Weight of the World" is an epic song (reminding me of Big Country, with its searing guitars), followed by the best track of the album, "Bones", with an irresitable guitar-and-drum hook (and which seems to me to have been a more obvious choice as the lead-off single). Other highlights for me include "The Racing Rats" and "Escape The Nest". The album falters a bit towards the end, and it is clear to me that Tom Smith (singer-main song writer) wanted to reach out for the stars and become more ambitious, which is fine, but the bottom line is that this album doesn't match the immediate urgency that was on display on "The Back Room".

I've seen Editors in concert a number of times, and was particularly intruiged by a then-unknown and new song they played at last year's Coachella festival, which now shows up on this album: "Bones". Editors are one of the better bands to come out of the rich music UK fertile grounds in the last couple of years. While I like "The Back Room" better, this is a pretty good album too, and I can't wait to see where Editors go from here. Highly recommended!

I bought this CD after viewing their video for An End Has A Start. Loved the song and hoped that at least some of the other songs would be as powerful. I was pleasantly surprised to find ALL the songs on this CD are great. There is a mixture of slow and fast songs which may put some people off. However, the slower songs have lyrics so great that it makes up for their lack of speed. I've had this CD in my car player since my purchase and play it nearly every day. That is rare for me. Highly recommend.