Pushing The Envelopeby Anonymous

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July 30, 2007: Editors’ An End Has A Start builds upon their debut, The Back Room, displaying a level of grandiosity and complexity without taking away from Editors’ raw energy. The songs just sound more polished this time around, a result of Jacknife Lee’s lush production (the same producer who produced Snow Patrol’s Eyes Open and Bloc Party’s A Weekend In The City), adding layers of ambience and other programming flourishes that make the songs sound bigger. In a move most likely meant to expand the band’s sound, the presence of the piano as a primary instrument adds more flavor and depth to Editors’ sound. This is most apparent on “Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors”, which represents a new direction for the band. Tom Smith’s moody piano in conjunction with Chris Urbanowicz’s textured tremolo guitar style, Russell Leetch’s thumping bass lines, and Ed Lay’s powerful drumming creates a thick soundscape that would soar in a stadium setting. “An End Has A Start” follows suit with its persistent driving drums, guitar hooks, and programming touches that are sure to make it a hit. “Bones” carries a similar energy, representing more of their traditional sound as heard in The Back Room, evidenced by Ed Lay’s drumming style reminiscent of U2’s War period. While Editors still have their signature sound, the song tempos are much more varied whereas most of the songs on their debut had very similar tempos. This is a bonus as the slower songs, “Put Your Head Towards The Air” and “The Weight Of The World”, give the record more room to breathe. The latter is Editors’ most poignant and beautiful moment on record. It’s refrain “Every little piece of your life, will it add up to one?/Every little piece of your life, will it mean something to someone?” is simple, but emotionally hard-hitting, making listeners re-evaluate themselves and wonder if they are really making a difference in someone else’s life. For the most part, An End Has A Start is lyrically much stronger and serious than The Back Room, dealing with topics of life and death that are morose, yet uplifting, as if everything will be fine in the end. If there is anything that brings the record down, it is its unevenness. The first half of the record has some of the best written Editors songs while the second half, although not bad, does not quite have the energy and grandeur of the first half (with the exception of “The Racing Rats”). Other than this, it is a solid record that pushes the Editors’ sound without taking away its signature elements, showing that the Editors are for real and more than just a band with a singer whose voice sounds a bit like Ian Curtis.