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FLOWERS
Echo & the Bunnymen
(True North/Universal)
Too many bands break up long before they get a chance to grow up.
Back at the end of the '80s, neo-psychedelic post-punks Echo & the Bunnymen were headed for that ignoble end when singer Ian McCulloch quit and the band ploughed on without him. Thankfully, everybody wised up and made up eventually, and they haven't looked back.
Their ninth studio album Flowers continues the progression the B-boys (now down to McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and some hired hands) have made since 1997's Evergreen and '99's What Are You Going to Do With Your Life. Rather than cling to the teeth-grinding, acid-drenched sound of their youth, the boys opt again for swirling, woozy pop psychedelia filled with synthesizer effects, shimmering guitar jangle and McCulloch's druggy, Jim Morrison tones.
Sure, the gentle Big Star-ish pop and worldly wise perspective of songs like Life Goes On are a long way from the barely restrained angst of their magnificent 1980 debut Crocodiles. But we doubt you'll be exactly the same 20 years from now, either.
Track Listing
1. King Of Kings
2. SuperMellowMan
3. Hide & Seek
4. Make Me Shine
5. It's Alright
6. Buried Alive
7. Flowers
8. Everybody Knows
9. Life Goes On
10. An Eternity Turns
11. Burn For Me