Wednesday, November 21, 2012

#197: Echo and the Bunnymen - Crocodiles (1980)



Zack: I’m pretty sure we listen to the same album every 20 or so. At 197 is this, at 174 was Siouxsie and the Banshees, at 153 is Bauhaus, at 137 is The Jesus and Mary Chain, at 117 is Dinosaur Jr. Wow, I really didn’t even mean to make it that uncanny. To be fair, that last one was a bit of a stretch, but the overall kind of rockin’ thing with an ethereal quality is consistent. Really, I would trace it back to album 87 (a 30 album jump – sue me), Fear of Music by the Talking Heads. Perhaps it’s a testament to their influence that so many bands seem to be trying to imitate that sound, but it’s starting to bug me. I mean I like it, but it’s just hard to write about so often. If this is going to be a pattern, I’m probably going to be shit out of luck by album 327, which will be “More of the Same” by Does it Matter. As for this one, umm, fuck. It’s a debut, so there’s that. It sounds a lot like those ones I just mentioned. If you like them, it’s definitely worth checking out. It’s going to be a tough road to 1001.
Favorite Tracks: Read it in Books; Stars are Stars; Happy Death Men

Emily: My only previous exposure to Echo and the Bunnymen before today was occasionally hearing their cover of the Doors' People are Strange on Radio 104.5. It's a dark and creepy song, but undeniably cool. For that reason, I thought Echo and the Bunnymen would be much stranger than they actually were. And much cooler. I enjoyed Crocodiles for its post-punk rock sound that didn't have the same warped, distanced vocals as many others we've heard so far. However, I agree with Zack that there wasn't much innovation going on here. Post-punk seems to be a genre of imitation. If you like that sound (which luckily I do), you'll be satisfied with the multiple variations on the same theme. If you don't, then you may prefer actual crocodiles to Echo and the Bunnymen's Crocodiles.
Favorite Tracks: Crocodiles; Rescue; Pride

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