After their raw, exuberant debut album "Crocodiles", Echo & the Bunnymen went back to the drawing board. They came back with "Heaven Up Here," and from the very first listen it's clear that this record is chock full of Ideas, man. It sounds a lot like four [possibly] naive young men trying to deconstruct rock as they saw it in the UK in the early 80's: all sleek, chic, and retro-redundant.
Punk arrived in 1975/76 to teach the dinosaurs a lesson, and while it quickly became a parody of itself, the movement galvanized the efforts (and turned the mental/emotional/spiritual wheels) of thousands of would-be musicians.
The Bunnymen, it would seem, took punk's lessons to heart, and although they dispensed of its machinations early in their career, "Heaven Up Here" could arguably be termed the best punk-influenced record ever made. While some of the sounds on the record seem dated and cliched by today's standards, it's important to listen to this music with one's mind attuned to the context of the Times in which it was released.
Guitars shimmer and glisten like raindrops falling into puddles, as the bass churns out hypnotic Nuggets/Krautrock-inspired riffs and the drums pound out cymbal-less, tribal rhythms. And then you notice the Voice: It soars, dives, drives, and fights with the music, sometimes all in the course of a single song. This Voice drips with drama and pathos, delivering cryptic lyrics that draw you into a strange internal logic that actually begins to make a lot of sense after awhile. After thirty listens, one begins to think, "Aha! This song really DOES mean something!"
Yes, you should probably buy this album. And once you do, remember this Tip: "Heaven Up Here" actually sounds even better on an overcast, rainy day. Nik Zero
Punk arrived in 1975/76 to teach the dinosaurs a lesson, and while it quickly became a parody of itself, the movement galvanized the efforts (and turned the mental/emotional/spiritual wheels) of thousands of would-be musicians.
The Bunnymen, it would seem, took punk's lessons to heart, and although they dispensed of its machinations early in their career, "Heaven Up Here" could arguably be termed the best punk-influenced record ever made. While some of the sounds on the record seem dated and cliched by today's standards, it's important to listen to this music with one's mind attuned to the context of the Times in which it was released.
Guitars shimmer and glisten like raindrops falling into puddles, as the bass churns out hypnotic Nuggets/Krautrock-inspired riffs and the drums pound out cymbal-less, tribal rhythms. And then you notice the Voice: It soars, dives, drives, and fights with the music, sometimes all in the course of a single song. This Voice drips with drama and pathos, delivering cryptic lyrics that draw you into a strange internal logic that actually begins to make a lot of sense after awhile. After thirty listens, one begins to think, "Aha! This song really DOES mean something!"
Yes, you should probably buy this album. And once you do, remember this Tip: "Heaven Up Here" actually sounds even better on an overcast, rainy day. Nik Zero
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