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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bunnymen: Uplifted!, October 29, 2009
I ordered this CD from the UK because I was eager to hear what the band was up to now. Right when it arrived in the mail, I popped it into my CD player on my daily drive and found myself grinning and even -- laughably (and I shouldn't admit this) -- singing along on the first listen! I don't know what the heck they did differently this time around, but the sound is much more upbeat, a little more raw around the edges, and yet ultimately more uplifting and joyful than these guys have EVER been before.
I typically associate Echo with a sort of sardonic sense of ominous gloom. Ian McCullough is one of the best singers in the world because he can dance on the low notes, and croon on the high. Here he just sounds happy to be alive. The happiness here is not the same we might have gotten with the nostalgic glee of songs like "Parthenon Drive" from the last CD (Siberia); here it sounds like U2 singing halleluja. (In fact, you can hear the U2 influence here prominently in the song structure and the bass lines). And though I am MUCH more into the "dark" EATB, I can tell that they have somehow managed to both keep their sense of irony while also lifting their spirits above the emo sensibilities of their post-punk days (which I long for, but understand are long gone).
The tracks all feel genuine to me. This is not "faux" happiness or a reach into pop for the sake of cashing-in. The band just feels happy where they are. I can tell they've been listening to a wider range of music, because the influences are all in the backboard of the tracks. And I do think they mic'd the cymbals more than ever before: there's a "brightness" to the sound, and a crispness, that I hadn't heard before. You can hear the crackle in Ian's voice and the wah-wah drone of Will's guitar and appreciate what they are up to. An A+ effort.
As to the songs, the first one out of the box -- "I Think I Need It Too" -- is so catchy it will kill you. It's anthemic. "The Fountain" is touching. I like "Drive" a lot for it's new Britpop sort of feel. The dark side is not entirely neglected, and you get a strong sense of it in "The Idolness of Gods" which closes out the CD...very similar in emotional impact to their previous song, "Nothing Ever Lasts Forever" but maybe grinning on the sly with a shot of bourbon behind it. I love these guys. This is not the 80s. Their back catalogue is huge and satisfying. Now my palate has been expanded. This is Bunnymen rebooted and I am not disappointed at all.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
a new looser sound, October 27, 2009
The band in the last several years made some surprisingly excellent CD's. 'Siberia' was a personal favorite that I still listen to all of the time though apparently the critics didnt like it because it sounded too retro (whatever). That CD is filled with beautiful tracks and it was also recorded with substantial studio skills. So, I am still grappling what to make of this CD. There's a decidely new and generally upbeat tone to the tracks: everything is played looser.
The singing is notably looser too. I have to say, I still havent got used to that singing style. Looser is OK but doing that also removes some of the drama from a song. You wont find anything like the refrain of "Dancing Horses" here, for better or worse.
My sense is that this is not their best work, but it certainly is worth a listen if you're a fan. Newcomers might want to listen to a "greatest hits" and then work their way to this CD.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointingly pleasant., November 14, 2009
On new album "The Fountain", Echo & The Bunnymen have exchanged their crocodile shoes for house slippers. The one-time brilliant, peerless purveyors of the gloom-rock anthem have traded it all in for safe, edgeless pop rock. Which is not to say the new release is without highlights: "Think I Need It Too", "Forgotten Fields", "Proxy" and "Drivetime" are all good songs, the latter being the closest they come to the moody grandeur of old (while still falling well short). Indeed, the entire record is eminently listenable, even pleasurable, and newer fans as well as the unfamiliar may find a lot to like here. The problem, especially for long-time fans, is that the tracks all sound thin, lacking weight both musically and lyrically. Will Sergeant's guitar is far too restrained and, on several tracks, absent completely, while Ian McCulloch's voice has been reduced over the years to barely more than a strangled croak. In and of itself, that's not such a detriment, but his reliance on repeating a single lyric over and over or frequently resorting to la-la-la's is a far cry from the quasi-poetic brilliance of, say, "With A Hip". I won't go so far as to say they've missed the point of their mission, but they've definitely become misshapen.
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