Album Review: The Editors - An End Has a Start (3/5)

"All sparks will burn out" sang The Editors on their debut album, The Back Room (Read my review), which last year was nominated for the British Mercury Music Award. Sadly they've proven themselves correct on their second album, An End Has a Start, which, while accomplished, lacks the energy and excitement of their first album.

Indeed the sophomore slump seems alive and well, as over the course of the last year we've seen second albums from a number of hit acts (The Killers, Scissor Sisters, Bloc Party, Keane, Gwen Stefani) that, while not bad, have not lived up to the promise of their debuts. While The Back Room was notable for its intense guitar-driven numbers, "Munich," "Blood," "Lights," "All Sparks," etc., An End Has a Start strives to be moodier, more atmospheric--the sort of U2-inspired grandeur perfected by Coldplay that many British bands have turned to of late.

First single "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" embodies this perfectly. Instead of the two-part guitar we got on "Munich," now we get piano, staccatic drumming, and a high-pitched electric guitar riff. It works on this song, but it gets old after awhile, for far too many tracks on this album basically take that formula and copy it. "The Weight of the World," for example, sounds quite similar, although it thankfully side-steps the high-pitched vibratto guitar that gets quiet tedious by the time you get to "Escape the Nest" or "Spiders." "Bones" sort of falls into this camp too, although it has a nice energy too it. When I reviewed their first album, I said that I really like the lead singer because 1) he has a nice deep voice and 2) he can actually sing well, which still serves the band well, although I feel like he's tempted to be a little too pretty in some songs, particularly "Bones."

The band works best when they go for tight, energetic songs, such as "An End Has a Start," which would make a great second single, and sounds more like something from their first album--loud and full with great interplay between the bass and two guitars. The "Racing Rats" is good too, opening with prominent piano chords and racing along with strong bass and fast drums.

Slow songs are not the band's forte. "Push Your Head Towards the Air"is quiet and more acoustic than other numbers, but it's mix of brooding and hope just doesn't grab me. "Well Worn Hand," which consists of slowly plucked piano chords and slow-ly sung vo-cals, is just too dreary, dull frankly. A more laid back track that I do like is "When Anger Shows," which manages to nail the brooding, piano-backed song well that the others don't quite achieve. There's a nice part in the middle too where the bass comes to the forefront, followed by vocals, then the piano and guitar.

Credit them for their efforts to incorporate the beloved piano into their work, but too bad they lost their focus here. An End Has a Start has some good moments, but overall is a disappointment.

Best: An End Has a Start, Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors, When Anger Shows, Racing Rats