Speaking of 30th anniversaries, the weekend of May 4th, 1984 gave us two genius artistic presents: the previously blogged about 16 Candles and this beautiful gem, Echo and the Bunnymen's fourth studio album Ocean Rain.
Before you even hit play, you could gaze at that cover image for hours. Such beauty in the cobalt blue glow of it all. Then there's the music:
This single 'The Killing Moon' (given a re-evaluation, after its striking placement at the beginning of the film Donnie Darko), is gorgeous encapsulation of this album. It's the post-punk gloomy rock of the band's origins, but put through a filter of strings and tinkling synths.
Album opener 'Silver' bustles with spirit and is anthemic in a different way than their contemporaries/rivals U2. This album has all the drama and majesty of U2's War and The Unforgettable Fire, but none of the Christian imagery or self-righteous pomposity. Ocean Rain is a much more romantic, melancholy, surreal, dreamlike experience than Bono and co.'s mid-'80s output.
It's hard not to get lost in the epic sway and beauty of the title track:
The Bunnymen are about to release a new studio album, Meteorites, this month. The lead single 'Lovers on the Run' has a slight Ocean Rain resemblance without aping the sound. Kudos to the band for coming back again with a great new single, 35 years on from their origins.
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