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. An End Has a Start was the 69th best-selling album in the UK end of year album chart in 2007.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic65/100
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
The A.V. ClubB+
Drowned in Sound8/10
The Guardian
NME6/10
The Observer
Pitchfork4.9/10
Rolling Stone
The Times
Uncut

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.

No.TitleLength
1."Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors"4:57
2."An End Has a Start"3:45
3."The Weight of the World"4:18
4."Bones"4:06
5."When Anger Shows"5:45
6."The Racing Rats"4:17
7."Push Your Head Towards the Air"5:44
8."Escape the Nest"4:43
9."Spiders"4:00
10."Well Worn Hand"2:54
iTunes additional track
No.TitleLength
11."A Thousand Pieces"3:41
Japan edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."A Thousand Pieces"3:41
12."Open Up"3:40

B-Sides and Rarities

US reissue bonus EP
No.TitleLength
1."Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" (demo)3:18
2."Banging Heads"3:42
3."A Thousand Pieces"3:41
4."The Racing Rats" (live)4:20
5."Open Up"3:40

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, performerTechnical 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

Chart (2007)Peak position
Weekly charts Chart (2007) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) 37 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 5 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) 45 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 2 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) 24 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 24 French Albums (SNEP) 56 Irish Albums (IRMA) 7 Italian Albums (FIMI) 47 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 37 Portuguese Albums (AFP) 21 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 31 UK Albums (OCC) 1 US Billboard 200 117 US Independent Albums (Billboard) 14Year-end charts Chart (2007) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 46 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 62 UK Albums (OCC) 69 Chart (2008) Position UK Albums (OCC) 190
Australian Albums (ARIA)37
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)5
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)45
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)2
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)24
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)24
French Albums (SNEP)56
Irish Albums (IRMA)7
Italian Albums (FIMI)47
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)37
Portuguese Albums (AFP)21
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)31
UK Albums (OCC)1
US Billboard 200117
US Independent Albums (Billboard)14
Chart (2007)Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)46
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)62
UK Albums (OCC)69
Chart (2008)Position
UK Albums (OCC)190

Certifications and sales

RegionCertificationCertified units/sales
Belgium (BRMA)Gold15,000*
Ireland (IRMA)Gold7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)Platinum335,000
United States48,000
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.