ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN Reverberation 1990

 

Discogs

 

Artist Biography

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Echo & the Bunnymen's dark, swirling fusion of gloomy post-punk and Doors-inspired psychedelia brought the group a handful of British hits in the early '80s, while attracting a cult following in the United States. Driven by the majestic voice and outsized persona of singer Ian McCulloch and the frequently brilliant guitar work of Will Sergeant, the band started off as an angular post-punk group on their first album, 1980's Crocodiles, but by the time of 1984's Ocean Rain they had become cinematically baroque. After stripping their sound down to basics for 1987's self-titled album, which produced the deathless hit "Lips Like Sugar," the band ran into problems and experienced tragedy (like the death of drummer Pete de Freitas), but eventually McCulloch and Sergeant cemented a musical bond that cracked but never shattered over the course of two decades of albums -- some introspective gems like 1999's What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?, some like 2014's Meteorites that recaptured their dramatic spark -- and live dates.

The Bunnymen grew out of the Crucial Three, a late-'70s trio featuring vocalist Ian McCulloch, Pete Wylie, and Julian Cope. Cope and Wylie left the group by the end of 1977, forming the Teardrop Explodes and Wah!, respectively. McCulloch met guitarist Will Sergeant in the summer of 1978 and the pair began recording demos with a drum machine that the duo called "Echo." Adding bassist Les Pattinson, the band made its live debut at the Liverpool club Eric's at the end of 1978, calling itself Echo & the Bunnymen.

Tracklist

1		Gone, Gone, Gone	4:15
2		Enlighten Me	4:37
3		Cut & Dried	3:45
4		King Of Your Castle	4:35
5		Devilment	4:40
6		Thick Skinned World	4:25
7		Freaks Dwell	4:05
8		Senseless	4:50
9		Flaming Red	5:33
10		False Goodbyes	5:38