Throughout 2005 there were few more ubiquitous young indie bands than Arcade Fire and Editors. Now, in 2007, both have been faced with the job of following albums that comfortably exceeded all commercial expectations.

Arcade Fire’s Neon Bibleset about the task by relying, in part, on the sort of regimented rhythms and Orwellian portent that graced Editors’ debut, The Back Room. And now Editors’ return appears to cover identical thematic ground to that of Arcade Fire’s debut, Funeral.

The single Smokers at the Hospital Doors is one of many songs inspired by bereavements in the life of the front-man Tom Smith. One thing Editors have in their favour is that you rarely doubt Smith’s sincerity. As the guitarist Chris Urbanowicz detonates explosive chords over Ed Lays’s staccato rhythm, Smith’s emotional investment in the song distinguishes it from almost everything Editors have recorded previously.

Neon Bible was marred by a sense of its own importance, and it’s a problem that An End Has a Startsometimes shares.

Buffed for maximum hit potential by Jackknife “Snow Patrol” Lee, many of these songs swell to an epic conclusion so inevitably that you can hear it coming before Smith opens his mouth. A case in point is Put Your Head Towards the Air, a hymn to dignity in adversity that might have been vindicated if the tune didn’t drag so much.

For all its faults though, An End Has a Startsometimes hits a seam of inspiration that excuses its clumsier pretensions. If you liked previous high-water marks such as Munich and All Sparks,you’ll be no less enamoured of the title track, which rises thrillingly to meet Smith’s admonishment: “You came on your own/ That’s how you leave.”

If this is an album forged nervously in the crucible of expectations, it’s by no means a disaster. But next time they might worry less about commercial viability and focus on making the very best record they can. Because this isn’t quite it.

(Kitchenware)

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