ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN CHARM WITH FIRST NEW ALBUM IN 12 YEARS ‘APPLES FOR ISSAC’

ALBUM REVIEW | ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN – APPLES FOR ISSAC by Emma Carrington

After 12 years, Echo & The Bunnymen have released their first new album since their 2014 release, Meteorites.  Apples For Issac is a new spin on the sound the band have spent four decades defining. With a discography full of tracks like ‘A Killing Moon’ and ‘Evergreen’, respectively released over 40 and nearly 30 years ago, Apples For Issac has a hell of a lot to live up to. 

From the opening track ‘Take Me By The Hand ‘, Echo & The Bunnymen’s age is showing. Definitely not in a negative light, but they have perfected their sound without nostalgic reliance. Ian McCulloch’s voice is just as theatrical and moody as it has been since the 80’s. On this album, however, McCulloch’s age has given the album bite and edge, a quality that comes from years of perfection. 

For me, the album’s zenith was the song ‘An Unstoppable Force’ (followed closely by ‘Brussels Is Haunted’); each band member’s quality shines through, and as much as this is a new album with quality in its own right, it is unmistakably Echo & The Bunnymen in all of their charm. 

Comfortably floating between their old sounds while being something new, the atmosphere in each of their song is familiar whilst retaining a fresh spin on things. Apples for Issac is no Ocean Rain, but it’s not trying to be. As much as the listener can tell this is an Echo & The Bunnymen album, it feels like a natural progression for the band as opposed to a money grab that plays off nostalgia. In a music scene filled with AI and industry plants, authenticity is both appreciated and exciting.

It is worth noting that Blondie drummer Clem Burke plays on 10 of the 11 songs on the album. Burke passed away in April of this year, and the album feels like a lovely homage to his career. His contribution gives the album a lovely emotional weight, and it is worth going through the album and paying attention to his drumming, which, in a word, is beautiful. 

The closing song ‘We Prayed In The Dark’ is spooky, haunting, and melancholic. The lyrics are almost weird but in the gorgeous way that this band is known for, psychedelic and ghostly. McCulloch’s vocals, as I keep hammering on about, are just beautiful. 

The album whispers the quality that the band has spent years perfecting. Apples for Issac is art in its own right without feeling the need to live up to its predecessors. Admittedly, it is a hard mental block to overcome for the listener, but Echo & The Bunnymen still leave me hungry for more 

Apples For Issac is out now – buy/stream the record here.

Catch Echo & The Bunnymen across the UK this November, ending with 2 nights at Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom this December – tickets on sale now.

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Emma Carrington

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