The notes I made for this album are basically a list of other bands that the tracks sound like. Echo & The Bunnymen follow in the footsteps of Joy Division and similar New Wave groups, but they’re just that little bit more poppy and lively. Although the darker drumbeats are there, and vocalist Ian McCulloch has that same Jim Morrison deep quality to his voice as Ian Curtis, the tracks also have a bit more guitar jangle to them, although Will Sergeant on guitars tends to provide decorative motifs rather than soloing (as is generally the case with the New Wave bands).
Going Up is a fairly typical example, with
bits of Hawkwind and Berlin-Era Bowie, while Do It Clean is a bit more upbeat,
with a Sixties flavour to it. Here my notes mention both Gloria by Them, a
little bit Doors, a little bit I’m Not Your Stepping Stone by The Monkees.
Crocodiles, meanwhile, has a Stranglers feel to it, with a great bassline from
Les Pattinson. All the tracks are relatively straightforward apart from Happy
Death Man which features an anxiety-inducing beat and some Aladdin Sane style
chaotic piano from McCulluch.
The slightly more poppy, slightly less
dirge-like style of Echo & The Bunnymen compared to, say Joy Division,
makes them a little more radio friendly but to me, it did also sound like
little bits and pieces of other artists rather than their own distinctive style
and, for that, I found it a little forgettable. I ended up listening to this
album twice to make notes, and now, typing them up, very little of the music
sticks with me.
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