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An End Has a Start actually sounds like it was crafted as ten quite individual chapters of a long-running saga; surprisingly, though, it ultimately works better than its predecessor as a cohesive, flowing album.
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This album is fucking brilliant – it made me want to cut my hair, paint the ceiling, fuck the postman and burn the disco down. So I did. Then I curled up in a corner, cried, and shat myself.
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Singer Tom Smith tempers his constant anxiety with flashes of optimism, his brittle nihilism with gooey sentiment.
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In places An End Has a Start is bleakly compelling; nevertheless, great swathes of the record strain towards a pasty arena-rock future.
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Tom Smith's emotive vocals and the dense wall of guitars strike the perfect balance between moody, underground noise and more accessible, arena-bound rock.
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Avoiding the ponderous repetition that dragged down songs like “Bullets” on the first record, they concoct a gentler, dreamier atmosphere with less apparent anxiety, and create a shadowy veil of sadness, shot through with hopeful transcendence.
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This is a decent album; it bears a craftsman-like solidity and many fans will no doubt be satisfied (and, more than that, happy) with it. But An End Has a Start is simply not the best album Editors are capable of putting together.
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The band's sophomore disc, which teems with drama and dark dollops of piano that swarm beautifully around singer-guitarist Tom Smith's clarion-call voice, continues to make good on the hype while again drawing on the past.
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With albums as strong as An End Has A Start, Editors may get the last laugh.
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SpinEditors have acquired a sense of urgency and emotion they lacked on "The Back Room." [Aug 2007, p.98]
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Entertainment WeeklyWe'll give the Editors the benefit of the doubt, thanks to majestic jems like 'Smokers Outside the Hospital Dooros' and the existential title track.
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It's nice to be reminded that the world is shit and we're all gonna die. Editors have mastered the form.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 73 out of 91
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Mixed: 9 out of 91
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Negative: 9 out of 91
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DW.Sep 13, 2007
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sandenosJul 21, 2007Excellent tunes. Rivals U2 for dishing up some champion stadium-filling anthems.Well done lads.
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TrekDJul 18, 2007Brilliant second album!