Return of the Bunnymen

I have been a fan of Echo and the Bunnymen since Crocodiles in 1980.  In addition to Ian McCulloch's raw, baritone voice, I have always been blown away by Will Sergeant's guitar.  The melodies he weaves into the guitar breaks are things of beauty.  The band broke up after the release of 1987's Eponymous album that spawned their beiigest hit, Lips Like Sugar.

After a modestly successful solo career, McCulloch, Sergeant and original bassist Les Pattinson hooked back up in 1997 with Evergreen (Original drummer Pete de Freitas died in a motorcycle accident in 1989).  After a few albums, Echo and the Bunnymen were down to a duo, with mixed results.  Then in 2005, they release the album Siberia.  I was stunned at how strong this album was.  It easily stood up against their earlier work.

As new that they were readying The Fountain for release, my personal expectation were high.  Released this week in the US, The Fountain may be their strongest album since their heydays of the 1980s.  I recently read an article that McCulloch has just the whisper of the voice he had in his prime.  What singer doesn't lose something after he hits his mid-30s?  Listening to the several live albums the band released earlier this decade, I was afraid the article was right.  He constantly went for the lower octave rather than hitting the highs that moved the songs along in their original incarnations.

Well, something happened between the live albums and The Fountain.  Hopefully, it was just a case of smoker's throat and he has quit because the voice is back.  I've been watch an Echo and the Bunnymen show on DirecTV that appears to be from SXSW and he doesn't shy away.  Good thing.

So what are the highlights of The Fountain?  The first single, Think I Need It Too leads off the album with a bomb blast of Sergeants trademark guitar wash.  It is a driving song that doesn't sound like a group of late 40/early 50s post-punk, Liverpudlians trying to relive their glory days. Everlasting Neverendless could have easily been an outtake from Porcupines.

The Fountain is a great new album.  It moves, rocks and makes you say Welcome Back Echo and the Bunnymen.  This album will get plenty of playtime in my house.

Footnote: Unfortunately the band's 2009 US tour has been postponed until April of 2010.