On their first album in four years The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon, Liverpudlian post-punk mainstays Echo And The Bunnymen are taking a trip down memory lane - and who can really blame them with their back catalogue - reworking some classic material of theirs including chart hit ‘The Killing Moon’.
“No one else has a song like The Killing Moon, not even Bowie,” frontman Ian McCulloch once said about the song, which isn’t strictly true because the chords of the song are actually based on ‘Space Oddity’ played backwards. In a recent statement, McCulloch said about these new reworks: “I’m not doing this for anyone else. I’m doing it as it’s important to me to make the songs better.” But can the band top perfection? The original 1984 version of the song has an untouchable je ne sais quoi, with swelling string sections being subtle and sophisticated enough to transform the post-punk band into a fully-fledged pop band. Listen to this new subdued, piano heavy version below and decide if you think it still has the magic of the original.
Following up 2014’s Meteorites and set for release 5 October, you’ll also find that the band’s new album The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon will feature a few other updated classic tracks like ‘Lips Like Sugar’ and ‘Seven Seas’ alongside a couple of new tunes including ‘The Somnambulist’. In support of the new album, The Bunnymen will be playing a show at Station Narva festival on the Russia/Estonian border 21 - 23 September, and later be touring America and Europe.
See UK and Dublin dates below. Check here for tickets
12 Oct – Olympia, Dublin
14 Oct – Parr Hall, Warrington
15 Oct – St David’s Hall, Cardiff
16 Oct – Hexagon, Reading
18 Oct – Palladium, London
20 Oct – Derngate, Northampton
21 Oct – Arts Centre, Warwick
22 Oct – Barbican, York
27 Oct – Fort Regent Leisure Centre, St Helier, Jersey
