An End Has a Start

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.

An End Has a Start
Studio album by Editors
Released	25 June 2007
Recorded	2006–2007
Studio	Grouse Lodge Studios, Rosemount, County Westmeath, Ireland Air Studios, London The Garage, Kent Miloco Studios, London
Genre	Indie rock, post-punk revival
Length	44:40
Label	Kitchenware
Producer	Jacknife Lee
Editors chronology
The Back Room (2005) An End Has a Start (2007) In This Light and on This Evening (2009)
Singles from An End Has a Start
"Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" Released: 18 June 2007 "An End Has a Start" Released: 3 September 2007 "The Racing Rats" Released: 26 November 2007 "Push Your Head Towards the Air" Released: 3 March 2008 "Bones" Released: 2 June 2008

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	65/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The A.V. Club	B+[4]
Drowned in Sound	8/10[5]
The Guardian	[6]
NME	6/10[7]
The Observer	[8]
Pitchfork	4.9/10[9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
The Times	[11]
Uncut	[12]

An End Has a Start was met with mostly positive reviews, reaching a Metacritic score of 65 based on 24 reviews.[2] 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.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
11.	"A Thousand Pieces"	3:41

Japan edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
11.	"A Thousand Pieces"	3:41
12.	"Open Up"	3:40

B-Sides and Rarities

US reissue bonus EP

No.	Title	Length
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, 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

Weekly charts Chart (2007) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 37 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14] 5 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[15] 45 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16] 2 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[17] 24 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 24 French Albums (SNEP)[19] 56 Irish Albums (IRMA)[20] 7 Italian Albums (FIMI)[21] 47 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[22] 37 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[23] 21 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 31 UK Albums (OCC)[25] 1 US Billboard 200[26] 117 US Independent Albums (Billboard)[27] 14

Year-end charts Chart (2007) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[28] 46 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[29] 62 UK Albums (OCC)[30] 69 Chart (2008) Position UK Albums (OCC)[31] 190

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[32]	Gold	15,000^*
Ireland (IRMA)[33]	Gold	7,500^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[34]	Platinum	335,000[35]
United States	—	48,000[35]
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (To access, enter the keyword "Editors" and check the 'Exact match' checkbox) on 6 February 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
2. "Editors - An End Has A Start". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
3. Reges, Margaret. "An End Has a Start – Editors". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
4. Modell, Josh (24 July 2007). "Editors: An End Has A Start | Music | Music Review". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
5. Gourlay, Dom. "Reviews – Albums – Editors – An End Has A Start". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 6 September 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
6. Clarke, Betty (22 June 2007). "Editors, An End Has a Start". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
7. Beaumont, Mark (25 June 2007). "NME Album Reviews – Editors: An End Has A Start". NME. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
8. Denney, Alex (20 May 2007). "The Editors, An End Has a Start". The Observer. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
9. Moerder, Adam (18 July 2007). "Editors: An End Has a Start". Pitchfork. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
10. Sheffield, Rob (13 June 2008). "Editors: An End Has a Start : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
11. Paphides, Pete (22 June 2007). "Editors: An End Has a Start". The Times. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
12. Long, April. "Editors -An End Has a Start – Review". Uncut. Archived from the original on 18 May 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
13. "Australiancharts.com – Editors – An End Has a Start". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
14. "Ultratop.be – Editors – An End Has a Start" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
15. "Ultratop.be – Editors – An End Has a Start" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
16. "Dutchcharts.nl – Editors – An End Has a Start" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
17. "Editors: An End Has a Start" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Editors – An End Has a Start" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
19. "Lescharts.com – Editors – An End Has a Start". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
20. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Editors". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
21. "Italiancharts.com – Editors – An End Has a Start". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
22. "Charts.nz – Editors – An End Has a Start". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
23. "Portuguesecharts.com – Editors – An End Has a Start". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
24. "Swisscharts.com – Editors – An End Has a Start". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
25. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
26. "Editors Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
27. "Editors Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
28. "Jaaroverzichten 2007". Ultratop. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
29. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2007". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
30. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2007". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
31. "2008 Year-End UK Charts" (PDF). Chart Plus. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
32. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2008". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
33. "The Irish Charts - 2007 Certification Awards - Gold". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
34. "British album certifications – Editors – An End Has a Start". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 May 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type An End Has a Start in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
35. Adams, Steve (3 October 2009). Global Artist. Billboard. p. 26.