EDITORS! An End Has A Start review part 1
Every second album by these indie upstarts recently has been a rather average affair, don't you think? Franz Ferdinand, The Futureheads, The Rakes, the dreaded Kaiser Chiefs and to a lesser degree, Bloc Party. Maximo Park seem to have bucked the trend by making a towering beast of a new record. It's Editors turn, nearly coming in last in the race to offer up a cynical money-grabbing record - hello Snow Patrol, or the Holy Grail, to create a record that can scale the heights of a fantastically received debut.
Enter 'An end has a start' which sees Editors battling the competition off with Tom's guitar pyrotechnics and winning the war against mediocrity convincingly.
Track 8 - Escape The Nest
Editors love their propulsive beats; that much is known from the debut which had a handful of explosive tracks equal to any of their peers including, yes, Interpol. 'Escape the nest' is one of the times on the album when the band hint at a direction they have only just started to travel. Here, they build a massive song around a surprisingly raw guitar riff and big drums which fade and build around Tom's vocals. Around the 3m 20s mark, they bring out the song's peak; a rough guitar chugging away in the background as the second guitar builds up speed, bringing the whole song collapsing in on itself, only to peter out instead of stopping dead. An intriguing way to end a song that could spell a harder edge to the band.
Track 1 - Smokers outside the hospital doors
Opening an album on two fronts - front a) an error. I urge you to find me the hospital doors you can smoke outside of these days. But then, 'Smokers in the little shelters near the hospital doors' doesn't sound so snappy I suppose. Front b) they are clearly aping the drum beats of Coldplay's 'Speed of sound' to dupe the public into buying their music. Obviously, we know full well that Editors are made of stronger stuff, even if they do swap Hollywood's Paltrow for Radio 1's Bowman. As an album opener, it's not nearly as impressive as 'Lights' from the debut. It's a grower though and there's a real sense of occasion when the Coldplay meets The Killers final third kicks in, with requisite back up singers and harmonies. It'll probably rocket up the charts, and deservedly so.
Track 4 - Bones
If an ailment could describe the guitars on this track, it would be a bit of a cough. Ragged and slightly raw, it's marvellous but in the vein of The Back Room. If there is one problem with the album, it is the similarities it shares with their debut. This is not unique to Editors; most bands are offering up new albums with many of the same ingredients as the first. Editors have thankfully avoided growing up too much and have stuck some fireworks in the mix but 'Bones' feels like one of the bridging tracks between the albums. It's a testament to the talent of the band that it is still a quality track but it pales with what else is on offer.
Enter 'An end has a start' which sees Editors battling the competition off with Tom's guitar pyrotechnics and winning the war against mediocrity convincingly.
Track 8 - Escape The Nest
Editors love their propulsive beats; that much is known from the debut which had a handful of explosive tracks equal to any of their peers including, yes, Interpol. 'Escape the nest' is one of the times on the album when the band hint at a direction they have only just started to travel. Here, they build a massive song around a surprisingly raw guitar riff and big drums which fade and build around Tom's vocals. Around the 3m 20s mark, they bring out the song's peak; a rough guitar chugging away in the background as the second guitar builds up speed, bringing the whole song collapsing in on itself, only to peter out instead of stopping dead. An intriguing way to end a song that could spell a harder edge to the band.
Track 1 - Smokers outside the hospital doors
Opening an album on two fronts - front a) an error. I urge you to find me the hospital doors you can smoke outside of these days. But then, 'Smokers in the little shelters near the hospital doors' doesn't sound so snappy I suppose. Front b) they are clearly aping the drum beats of Coldplay's 'Speed of sound' to dupe the public into buying their music. Obviously, we know full well that Editors are made of stronger stuff, even if they do swap Hollywood's Paltrow for Radio 1's Bowman. As an album opener, it's not nearly as impressive as 'Lights' from the debut. It's a grower though and there's a real sense of occasion when the Coldplay meets The Killers final third kicks in, with requisite back up singers and harmonies. It'll probably rocket up the charts, and deservedly so.
Track 4 - Bones
If an ailment could describe the guitars on this track, it would be a bit of a cough. Ragged and slightly raw, it's marvellous but in the vein of The Back Room. If there is one problem with the album, it is the similarities it shares with their debut. This is not unique to Editors; most bands are offering up new albums with many of the same ingredients as the first. Editors have thankfully avoided growing up too much and have stuck some fireworks in the mix but 'Bones' feels like one of the bridging tracks between the albums. It's a testament to the talent of the band that it is still a quality track but it pales with what else is on offer.