REVIEWS:
Post your comments about Echo And The Bunnymen
(reviewed by Akis Katsman)
HIGH POINTS: Rescue, Villiers Terrace, Stars Are Stars, Monkeys, Crocodiles, Do It Clean, Pictures On My Wall. LOW POINTS: Going Up.
Crocodiles is the debut album by the Liverpool band Echo And The Bunnymen. In case you’re confused, “Echo” was the name of their drum machine when they were only a trio (without the actual drummer). This group’s singer and main songwriter is Ian McCulloch, who is one of the most significant personalities of the 80’s along with Bono, Morrissey etc. although somewhat less famous than these. As for the music, it’s clearly influenced by pretty dark bands like The Doors and Joy Division, as well as from punk music. It also sounds like U2, but let’s not forget that U2 came later, so they probably were inspired by The Bunnymen. This album is a set of some very strong songs, although there are some weaker ones as well, so by no means this is a perfect album. Ironically, the album’s low point for me is the semi-atmospheric opener “Going Up” which does not have a strong hook like some others songs there, and the coda is somewhat pointless. But let’s go to the good songs now. There are a couple of numbers very close to punk (“Do It Clean”, title track) as well as some others which are calmer and moodier. In fact, “Do It Clean” is a very energetic songs and the guitar tone is amazing. The title track has a great rhythm and it kicks ass.
The best song in the album though, is probably “Rescue”. It’s a pure power pop song, but with desperate lyrics (“things are wrong, things are going wrong…” and such). The guitar is very impressive here too, but the chorus is the real gem here. It’s anthemic, but it’s not a bad thing at all, in fact I love to sing along with it! “Stars Are Stars” is another melancholic pop song, very resonating because of the clever lyrics again. The song “Villiers Terrace” is the only song here to feature a piano (along with “Happy Death Men”) and it’s so amazing. I love everything there, the piano, the verses, the chorus, the coda… And all these in less than three minutes! And it’s so powerful, like a pure punk rock song! I’ve heard it’s lyrically about Hitler or something like that, I don’t know exactly. “Read It In Books” is next, and it’s a good song (it’s all about the lyrics there) although the instrumental break borrows heavily from “Monkeys”, another outstanding song there. Almost forgot to mention the atmospheric “Pictures On My Wall”. The chorus is very moody and strange-sounding for its time, to kill for. I think it was released as a single, along with “Rescue”. There are also some numbers which are okay but no so impressive (“Pride” and the last two songs), but overall this is a great album with a really unique atmosphere and it’s a good place to start with The Bunnymen (although it isn’t their absolute best – they were so good that they could do nothing but top it!). Do a favor to you and discover this band if you haven’t yet – it’s a crime this band is so overshadowed by other popular bands like U2 and The Cure. I think Echo And The Bunnymen are not any less good than these bands, at least in their prime.
Post your comments / reviews for this album
Index | Main band/artist reviews page