An End Has a Start explained

An End Has a Start
Type:	studio
Artist:	Editors
Cover:	AN END HAS A START.jpg
Released:	25 June 2007
Recorded:	2006–2007
Genre:	Indie rock, post-punk revival
Length:	44:40
Label:	Kitchenware
Producer:	Jacknife Lee
Prev Title:	The Back Room
Prev Year:	2005
Next Title:	In This Light and on This Evening
Next Year:	2009

An End Has a Start is the second album by British indie rock band Editors. It was released on 25 June 2007 in the UK and on 17 July 2007 in the US. The album was certified Platinum in the UK on the same day it was released.^[1] An End Has a Start was the 69th best-selling album in the UK end of year album chart in 2007.

Reception

An End Has a Start was met with mostly positive reviews, reaching a Metacritic score of 65 based on 24 reviews. Drowned in Sound wrote: "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", with a score 8 of 10. The Guardian wrote that "singer Tom Smith tempers his constant anxiety with flashes of optimism, his brittle nihilism with gooey sentiment" (8/10). NME opined that "An End Has a Start turns out to be a pupae album—its Editors stretching their sonic muscles, poking the first spindles of whatever new form they'll take out of their gloom-rock cocoon come album three", giving the album 6 of 10. Pitchfork felt that "It's a shame that premature commercial success has sullied Editors' creativity, because An End contains its share of bright spots", giving the album 4.9 of 10. Stylus Magazine said that it is "A record that's so deathly serious that each of its ten songs could be associated with its very own biblical plague."

Track listing

All tracks written by Tom Smith, Chris Urbanowicz, Russell Leetch & Edward Lay.

B-Sides and Rarities

Trivia

• German band In Extremo covered the track "An End Has a Start" on their 2008 album Sängerkrieg.

Personnel

Editors

• Tom Smith – lead vocals, guitar, piano
• Russell Leetch – bass guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
• Ed Lay – drums, percussion, backing vocals
• Chris Urbanowicz – lead guitar, synthesizer

Additional musicians

• Edith Bowman – performer
• Robert Whitaker – performer
• James Banbury – cello, string arrangements
• Alison Dodds – violin
• Fiona McCapra – violin
• Anne Struther – choir, chorus
• Garret Lee – choir, chorus, performer

Technical personnel

• Jacknife Lee – programming, production, engineering, mixing
• Sam Bell – programming, engineering, performer
• Dani Castelar – performer, assistant engineer
• Jon Gray – engineering, performer
• Tom McFall – choir, chorus, engineering
• Neil Comber – mixing assistant
• Pete Hofmann – engineering
• Cenzo Townshend – mixing
• Idris Khan – images, cover art

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (2007)	Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[2]	46
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[3]	62
UK Albums (OCC)^[4]	69

Notes and References

1. Web site: Certified Awards Search . . 15 August 2013 . To access, enter the keyword "Editors" and check the 'Exact match' checkbox . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130124005813/http://www.bpi.co.uk/certified-awards.aspx . 24 January 2013.
2. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 2007. Ultratop. 16 September 2020.
3. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Album 2007. dutchcharts.nl. 16 September 2020.
4. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2007. Official Charts Company. 16 September 2020.
5. Web site: 2008 Year-End UK Charts. Chart Plus. The Official Charts Company. 16 September 2020.