| Meteorites | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 3 June 2014 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, neo-psychedelia | |||
| Length | 47:47 | |||
| Label | 429 Records | |||
| Producer | Youth, Andrea Wright | |||
| Echo & the Bunnymen chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Meteorites | ||||
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Meteorites is the twelfth studio album by British band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 3 June 2014 and produced by Youth and Andrea Wright. [1] [2] It was the band's first UK Top 40 album entry since 1999 (peaking at #37).
Guitarist and lead vocalist Ian McCulloch said in reference to the album's title, "Meteorites' is what Echo and the Bunnymen mean and are meant to be—up there in heaven—untouchable, celestial, beautiful and real. It has changed my life." (The idea is mistaken—meteoroids are in space; meteorites have fallen to the ground.) The album's front cover, designed by Luke Insect, uses a thin-slice image of the Zagami meteorite from Mars. Pictures of other thin-sliced meteorites decorate the LP back cover and CD booklet.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 61/100 [3] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| The Guardian | [5] |
| Pitchfork | 6.0/10 [6] |
| Rolling Stone | [7] |
The album mostly received average reviews. [3]
Tim Sendra of Allmusic praised the album, saying, "where their previous effort, Fountain, was a big-sounding, very clean modern rock album that reduced the band to its essential core, this one aspires to more epic heights. Teeming with giant string arrangements, widescreen vocal production, and songs that hark back to the glory days of Ocean Rain , the album is a mysterious, murky, impressively nostalgic affair. With Sergeant providing his typically concise and perfectly complementary guitar lines and Mac digging deep to turn in one of his better vocal performances in a while, the duo give Youth a lot to work with and he spins it into some gauzy magic." concluding "It may be too late to really matter, and they may be doomed to be seen as a nostalgia act, but many of the bands in 2014 that are making neo-psychedelic albums would be well served to check with the Bunnymen to see how to go about things the correct way." [8]
Joe Tangari of Pitchfork criticized the album, claiming "for five albums now, Echo and the Bunnymen have been reduced to a duo of Ian McCulloch and guitarist Will Sergeant. As distinctive as they both are, they miss the rhythmic push they used to get when they had a fully integrated rhythm section with as much creative agency in the band." [9]
Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone observed "on their 12th LP, trademark psychedelic swirls and red-sunset strings sound like they're soundtracking a Western about a gunslinger in a Joy Division T-shirt, as McCulloch moans about doomed romance, decadence ("Grapes Upon the Vine") and emotional dissolution (the Phil Spector-steeped "Is This a Breakdown?"). Producer Youth helps balloon the intensity skyhigh, making McCulloch the Bono of spider-web bangs and black regret." [10] Meanwhile, Record Collector criticized the album, stating,"While it [the album] believes it’s a storm of Ocean Rain-esque majesty, Meteorites fizzles out like it’s just another shower." [11]
Cody Ray Shafer of Under The Radar gave a positive review on the album, stating "Meteorites is definitely their best work since 1987’s self-titled album, and it explores the cavernous expanse of dramatic, orchestrated pop they cultivated on the earlier album." but noted there was "not much here that we haven’t really heard before. For Bunnymen fans, Meteorites will be a welcome return to form. But they sound like a band immune to the musical climate around them. Instead of moving forward, Meteorites just takes them back. Back to when they were good, sure, but sometimes that’s not enough." [12]
Rhian Daly of NME gave 3 out of 5 stars, saying the "band may be open and unguarded on their 12th record but they can't match their previous highs [...] for a band formerly as bombastic as Echo And The Bunnymen, it’s sad that their 12th album, and first in five years, begins with a whimper. The title track opener takes a few minutes to reach its Verve-esque chorus, and even when it does, Ian McCulloch’s normally peerless voice is drowned by strings, guitars and backing vocals. It’s not all bad, though: ‘Lovers On The Run’ is vintage Bunnymen, with Big Mac crooning semi-cryptically about “rising tides” and “baying suns” over a riff borrowed from ‘The Killing Moon’" and concluded, "as a whole, ‘Meteorites’ fails to set the sky on fire." [13]
All tracks written by Ian McCulloch, except where noted.
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freitas joined as the band's drummer.
Crocodiles is the debut album by the English post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 18 July 1980 in the United Kingdom and on 17 December 1980 in the United States. The album reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart. "Pictures on My Wall" and "Rescue" had previously been released as singles.
Ocean Rain is the fourth studio album by the English post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 4 May 1984 by Korova and reached number four on the UK Albums Chart, number 87 on the United States Billboard 200, number 41 on the Canadian RPM 100 Albums and number 22 on the Swedish chart. Since 1984 the album has been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry. Ocean Rain includes the singles "The Killing Moon", "Silver" and "Seven Seas".
Heaven Up Here is the second album by the English post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen, released on 29 May 1981. In June 1981, Heaven Up Here became Echo & the Bunnymen's first Top 10 release when it reached number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also the band's first entry into the United States album charts when it reached number 184 of the Billboard 200. The songs "A Promise" and "Over the Wall" were released as singles.
Porcupine is the third studio album by the English post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. First released on 4 February 1983, it became the band's highest-charting release when it reached number two on the UK Albums Chart despite initially receiving poor reviews. It also reached number 137 on the American Billboard 200, number 85 on the Canadian RPM 100 Albums and number 24 on the Swedish chart. In 1984, the album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry. The album includes the singles "The Back of Love" and "The Cutter."
Echo & the Bunnymen is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen, their last with drummer Pete de Freitas, who died in 1989 in a motorcycle accident, aged 27. The album was produced by Laurie Latham; the sessions took place in Germany, Belgium, London and Liverpool, following an aborted attempt at recording the tracks without de Freitas and with producer Gil Norton. With Latham being an exacting producer, and lead vocalist Ian McCulloch receiving star treatment and drinking heavily, the recording was more difficult than the band had initially hoped. The album made more use of keyboards than their previous studio albums, which had been string-heavy. Three singles were issued: "The Game", "Lips Like Sugar" and "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo".
Siberia is the tenth studio album by Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 20 September 2005 and received mixed reviews and was consequently the band's first album to not enter into the UK Top 75 Albums Chart.
Reverberation is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen. The album was released amidst a line-up change for the group, due to the departure of vocalist Ian McCulloch and the death of drummer Pete de Freitas. The remaining members, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson, were joined by ex-St. Vitus Dance singer Noel Burke, keyboard player Jake Brockman and drummer Damon Reece. The album was produced by former Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick at Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey, England, and had a more pronounced psychedelic sound than the group's previous releases.
Evergreen is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen. It is their first album since reforming after they disbanded in 1993. Vocalist Ian McCulloch and guitarist Will Sergeant had previously worked together as Electrafixion before they were rejoined by bassist Les Pattinson under the name Echo & the Bunnymen in early 1997. The album was recorded at Doghouse Studios in Henley-on-Thames and was produced by McCulloch and the band's manager Paul Toogood but was credited to the whole band.
What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen. The album saw the departure of bassist Les Pattinson from the group, partly due to disagreements with vocalist Ian McCulloch; McCulloch and the remaining band member, guitarist Will Sergeant, subsequently recorded the record with session musicians. The London Metropolitan Orchestra provided backing music and the American rap rock band Fun Lovin' Criminals appeared as guest musicians on two tracks. The album was produced by Alan Douglas and Echo & the Bunnymen and it was recorded at various locations throughout England. Feeling sidelined during the recording of the album, Sergeant described it as "probably the worst time in my whole life".
Flowers is the ninth studio album released by the English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen in May 2001. It reached number 56 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was recorded at the Elevator Studios in Liverpool and the Bryn Derwyn Studios in Wales and produced by Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant, with additional production by Pete Coleman. Flowers included the singles "It's Alright" and "Make Me Shine". The cover art is from a book by Michael Lesy called Wisconsin Death Trip (1973). It is about a town in Wisconsin called Black River Falls during the Victorian era.
Live in Liverpool is a live album by Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released in 2002. Featuring live recordings in the band's native city of Liverpool at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 August 2001. The album cover features Liverpool Cathedral.
Songs to Learn & Sing is a compilation album by English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen, released on 11 November 1985 by Korova. Featuring all of the singles the band had released up to that point, the album received positive reviews and reached number six on the UK Albums Chart.
"The Pictures on My Wall" is the first single released by English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen and was released on 5 May 1979 in a limited issue of 4,000 copies. The single reached number twenty-four on the UK Indie Chart.
The Fountain is the eleventh studio album by British band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 12 October 2009 and produced by John McLaughlin, Ian McCulloch and Simon Perry. The first single from the album, "Think I Need It Too", was released on 28 September 2009.
"Lips Like Sugar" is a single by the English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen, which was released in July 1987. It was the second single from their eponymous fifth studio album (1987).
"Don't Let It Get You Down" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released in November 1997. It was the third single released after Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant and Les Pattinson reformed the band. It was also the third single to be released from their 1997 album, Evergreen. It reached number 50 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Scissors in the Sand" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 5 June 2006 on the Cooking Vinyl label. It was the third single to be released from the band's 2005 album, Siberia.
The Sound of Echo is an EP that was released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen in February 1984. The EP is also known as the Never Stop EP and the Echo and the Bunnymen EP. The EP takes tracks from their 1980 Crocodiles album, their 1983 Porcupine album and adds a non-album single and a live track. The EP was released on 12-inch vinyl. The live track, "Do It Clean", was recorded at the Royal Albert Hall on 18 July 1983.
The Stars, the Oceans & the Moon is the thirteenth studio album by British indie rock band Echo & the Bunnymen that re-records older songs from the band's catalogue. It was released on 5 October 2018 and has received mixed reviews.
