Album Summary
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. Recorded at Eden Studios in London and at Rockfield Studios near Monmouth, Crocodiles was produced by Bill Drummond and David Balfe, while Ian Broudie had already produced the single "Rescue". The music and the cover of the album both reflect imagery of darkness and sorrowfulness. The album received favourable reviews from the music press, receiving four out of five stars by both Rolling Stone and Blender magazines.
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Aug 09 2023
Author
File under: Bands that i think are talented and make fine music, whose influence I recognize and appreciate, yet have absolutely zero interest in listening to.
Oct 26 2024
Author
I'm 87% sure the autor of this list realised halfway thought that he didn't know 1001 albums and added just random English music.
Apr 19 2023
Author
This album lands squarely in the “I feel like I should like this” camp. However, for reasons I can’t articulate, I just don’t find it that compelling
Sep 09 2022
Author
An album I just don’t care about, it’s been weeks since I’ve had an enjoyable listening experience with an album. Somebody please help me
Sep 01 2021
Author
This is a seminal album for me. In 1980 I was 18 years old and and was deepening a musical rebirth. Shedding the shackles of classic rock and discovering the joys of alternative rock. Melody Maker and NME were the bibles of my religious awakening. That's where I read about Echo and the Bunnymen and how I was lead to their first album. From the moment the rumbling bass and drum that introduces Going Up, I was hooked. I have the original Canadian release which does NOT include Do It Clean as the second track which is fine by me; I think the ne two punch of those two songs back to back as my introduction to Bunnymen may have caused my head to explode. I won't go into a track by track lovefest, just suffice to say that the album gets stronger and stronger and kick started my now decades long love of British alternative/ post punk music as well as indie/alternative music in general. 5 🌟
Feb 21 2022
Author
Crocodiles by Echo & the Bunnymen (1980)
If you’re looking for meaningful lyrics, disciplined poetic cadence, creative melodies, elaborate chord structures, skillful performances, and fine vocals, you should look elsewhere.
This Liverpudlian group’s debut release has a steady and competent sound, but it lacks variety on almost every level. I’m looking for artistry here and not finding it. Ian McCulloch’s lead vocals are too often stuck on one note, with easy intervals begging to get back to the home tone. It’s what a non-singer does when forced to write a song he has to sing.
While the themes are dark, they neither shock nor provoke empathy. All we get is assorted amateur adolescent angst that could be assisted by amphetamines.
It’s a sad album that provides its only musical variation on the final track “Happy Death Men”. If this record has a highlight, this is it, but it’s more of a lowlight. The lone lead solo guitar work is found on this track, and listening to it goes a long way toward explaining why there isn’t more of it. Guitarist Will Sergeant has a very narrow comfort zone, and he has the good sense to stay within it.
It seems to me that in a title track about “Crocodiles”, it seems that one could find some actual crocodilian images that might give some meaning. But nope. The listener is pretty much on his/her own.
In the song “Rescue”, they ask: “Is this the blues I’m singin’?”
No, I don’t think so. More like the blahs.
1/5
May 12 2021
Author
I never really listened to Echo and the Bunnymen much because their name and fans were off putting, but this record is really fantastic. Cue regret for not tuning in earlier, as this would go splendidly alongside the cure, new order, joy division, the smiths. Really great, moodly rhythmic rock record.
4*
Mar 29 2023
Author
Post-punk is one of the worst genres of music I've ever heard. A scourge upon mankind, a plague upon good taste, an offense to good taste.
Apr 03 2022
Author
A truly miserable album which is what makes it so perfect.
Jan 14 2022
Author
This album has the feel of a high energy anti-establishment punk album of the 70's, heard through the haze of heavy sedatives. The tempo is slower, the gritty effects are traded for rich and mellow reverbs, but the bite is everywhere and just beneath the surface. Check out the track "All That Jazz" to hear what I mean.
This is a great album and pair perfectly with works from groups like the Clash. I'm surprised that I never really listened to this group, but I know I will be now!
Jun 26 2024
Author
Whoever made this list had a raging hard-on for British boy bands from the 80s. That being said, this band was one of the slightly better ones. I probably won’t remember it though.
May 02 2021
Author
I remember listening to some of this band's later work when I was in college, and I'll never forget their video for 'Bring On The Dancing Horses' (a song from a later album) that always reminded me of Equus, a great play (no idea if the band intended that). This album, their debut (I think), is great. Nice mash-up of rock, post-punk, new wave -- this is all my best guess; I often mess up all these subgenres -- and I like the strong bass lines.
Jan 31 2021
Author
Turns out, I like this band
Nov 21 2024
Author
I really enjoyed this album. It’s definitely post-punk with that early goth sound. It has the dark, moody atmosphere of bands like Joy Division and Bauhaus, but with more energy that highlights the punk influences and the new wave sounds bleeding into the music. Since this is their debut, I’m excited to move through their catalog and see how they progress from here.
Jun 29 2023
Author
What a fantastic album. Loved Rescue. This is the sound of my youth, being played at parties by countless cover bands, along with Oingo Boingo, B-52s, REM, U2
Feb 21 2022
Author
9/10, really fun 80s rock
while I really liked their first album, the stuff that came after was undeniably better
still a damn good start for a band tho
Oct 21 2021
Author
Good album. Really build momentum. I think the sweet spot is Monkeys, Crocodiles, and Rescue. Band sounds good. Good harmonies, crisp vocals, and cohesive new wave sound.
May 20 2026
Author
(3/5) It's like The Cure was a little bit happier. Heavy on the treble and reverb as is common in the era, this was a passable 35 minutes of early 80's New Wave/Brit pop. I think I liked it a shade better than The Cure, hence the '3', but I'm probably not coming back to it. Standout tracks were "Crocodiles", "Rescue", & "All That Jazz". The rest was just sorta there and blended into each other..
May 20 2026
Author
This is a new listen to me. What awaits from the band with the great name, Echo and the Bunnymen. Seems they were bigger in the UK than the US, which is why I have never heard of them. Let's see what the day has in store.
Looking back from 2026, I hear The Cure, but you know, if they had slightly more bounce in their step. Still, we’re in quite moody territory, brooding on dark thoughts. It does it well though. Deep bass lines and guitar parts that fold over them. I enjoyed it.
What this project is showing me is that apparently I enjoy the sparse Brit-punk sound. It may never, or very rarely. strike me as 5-star outstanding, but its familiar enough to sit with for a turn or two. Also, this is a band I can hear covering The Doors on some cult classic movie somewhere down the line.
Nov 13 2025
Author
This was fine, would likely not relisten
Nov 13 2025
Author
I had to look.. there are 3 Echo and The Bunnymen records on this list. At least 1 too many.
Mar 29 2026
Author
I love Echo and the Bunnymen so this was an easy listen.
Mar 25 2026
Author
Hei tää on ihan super! Miks en oo ikinä kuunnellut näitä? Curee/JoyDiv kategoriaa mut kepeetä ja kivaa!
Nov 01 2024
Author
This is what they call ‘right up my alley’. Its new wave, its got that punch and its structurally interesting. It might be my taste but theres nothing ive got to critique. I could listen to this easily and i think a 5 is in order.
Dec 11 2025
Author
Crocodiles
I’m not sure what prompted me into it, but I bought the Bed Bugs and Ballyhoo best of around A-Levels and I remember being very keen to see them at V97. It was before (How Does it Feel to Be) On Top of the World, so it can’t have been that, it was most likely their Evergreen album from that time.
Despite really liking them I think I’ve only really listened to Ocean Rain, so it's great to listen to this properly. It has all of the elements of what makes them great, and there are some excellent songs in their melodic post-punk moody style, and it’s notable how much of a 60s influence runs through it despite that post punk mood, much like many Liverpool bands from the 80s onwards.
Guitar and bass-wise there are obvious comparisons to The Smiths, in the jangliness and disco-influence, and although this is a little bit before The Smiths, I think Will Sergeant is probably a bit overshadowed by Marr and other contemporaries, but he really is an excellent guitarist
Going Up, Monkeys, Crocodiles, the excellent Rescue, Villiers Terrace and All that Jazz are the real standouts, and I quite like the Doorsian Happy Death Men, but it does dip in a few places, Stars Are Stars, Pride and Pictures on My Wall not quite catching light for me. But it is a very good album by a great band, which I think adds up to a 4.
🐰🐰🐰🐰
Nov 13 2025
Author
Know the band name but not their music…loved this. A lot. Thinking this might be a huge influence on numerous bands including the replacements…will definitely listen again.
May 20 2026
Author
I'd only vaguely heard of this one, and only in reference to The Cure. Almost immediately I saw the resemblance, and at times it even felt as though the singer were imitating Robert Smith. While reviews and critics point out their vastly different approaches and styles to the same genre of music, I had trouble finding those differences, perhaps in a good way because I do appreciate the occasional Cure excursion. All around decent early 80s art rock album with as few low points as it had high points, it's a 3.5/5 that I may revisit but don't care to round up for now.
Dec 16 2025
Author
Pretty cool chilled out punk type music, I'm not really sure how to describe it and it reminds me of something but I can't but my finger on it. A lot of the songs have a similar vibe but there is a nice variety and I think I like the album as a whole. It seems like a cohesive work. The vocals are the only thing that kind of wears on me, not that he is bad but it seems dramatic at times. Might just be a product of the period it came out though.
Feb 01 2026
Author
I’m at a 2.5; I’d prefer to keep it there, but I’ll bump it down to a 2 on account of me being utterly desperately bored by the end of it.
Here’s the good news: I think there's only one actively bad track in "Happy Death Men". Here’s the bad news: there is one actively good track in “Pride”, and I would maybe extend that out to 3 at most, with “Stars Are Stars” & the title track loosely clicking to my ears. The other 8 tracks on this album are… well, I genuinely don’t remember a damn thing about them other than that they sounded kinda nice. I have notes I wrote while listening, sure, but most of those notes end with “that was OK” or “that was alright” or “it sounds good but it just never hooked me”, or some variation of words that sugarcoats what I was trying to avoid feeling throughout this album: bored. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s THAT boring, but… it does get pretty damn boring by the end. This album hits a quota of “it sounds kinda nice” on every single track, and just coasts on that quota for the most part, never elevating at all. Even in the tracks themselves, there’s a painful amount of repetition to the instrumentals that sticks more and more the longer you listen to it. It doesn’t help that a lot of these tracks are just way, way too loosely written, trying to capture vibes that sort of exist, yet never really gather the imagery to feel anywhere near as compelling as they want it to be.
It’s frustrating, because I think “Ocean Rain” IS compelling, and while I’m willing to give some leeway on account of this being a debut album, this just doesn’t fucking do anything to stick out. Instrumentally, I can praise “Ocean Rain” for having a lot of musical prescience & sounding way ahead of 1984 at points, but this album is only loosely ahead of its time, slowly reverting back from the R.E.M. vibes it has early on to typical late ‘70s / early ‘80s post-punk fare, with just a touch of instrumental work that at least feels a little unique. If the lyrics aren’t hitting, the instrumentals feel stale, and the vocal work just sort of bounces off for the vast majority of an already kinda long 38 minutes, then I can’t in good faith bump this up to a 3. I don’t think it’s as low as a 2, but this album genuinely never hits a higher gear to justify it, no matter how much I’m trying to find something. I don’t think it’s THAT bad in terms of individual tracks, but as one collective album, it just drags on. The ceiling is a 3, but I’m stuck on a 2, and one that I can honestly say might not be worth being on the list.
P.S.: Maybe I should’ve just listened without regard for the lyrics, but that’s just against all of my musical sensibilities. Besides, I still think that for as nice as the instrumentals feel, that sense of stale repetition would’ve still bitten at me deeply. I really just didn’t vibe with it, man. My first 2 since “Maverick A Strike” in November. Alas.
May 20 2026
Author
Super debut from a great band.
May 15 2026
Author
Another classic debut album. This is great. In my opinion one of the grossly underrated band of that era.
May 08 2026
Author
Самая красивая челка в музыкальной индустрии. Красивый дебютный альбом, который с каждой песней круто разгоняется. Крокодилы, коровы, кролики, люди-кролики. Всем респект! Бесконечно люблюююю
May 08 2026
Author
❤️❤️❤️
May 06 2026
Author
Easy to give it a five—When I was a college dj, I played this too often. Hearing it away, i remember why.
Apr 06 2026
Author
Easy rating. One of my faves and a go-to for some great memories. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see them live back then. Not interested with whatever iteration the band continues. We still have the 1st 2 (okay, maybe 3) albums.
Apr 05 2026
Author
music is love
Apr 01 2026
Author
Wow, very tight
Feb 18 2026
Author
wait dzaan momewona
Jan 21 2026
Author
I can’t think of a reason to knock it down from 5*
Epic post punk deliciousness
Jan 04 2026
Author
Very few people realise that this was actually written and produced by UK music legends, Houmous & Chutney. 4.9
5/12 Crocodiles
Dec 21 2025
Author
Hmmm, I think I'm goth now? All it took was some driving, prominent bass lines without too many frills; a steady and unambitious drumbeat to match; some jangly, shimmering, but not overly complicated guitar that layers on more darkness despite sounding bright; lyrics that aren't afraid to be gloomy without being ironic or shocking; and emotional grandiosity that isn't theatrical or lamenting. It's a formula that got repeated (and, sure, improved upon) by bands with a bigger reach in the decades that followed, but this album had to have been a huge influence on the Cures and Interpols of the world.
As a bass player, I love a band where the guitar takes an occasional backseat to the rhythm section, and this album has a ton of those moments. Usually those are when the band sounds its most brooding...and clearly "brooding" is what they're going for here. Will Sergeant is restrained to the point that his guitar creates more space than it fills, so he's definitely still the lead musician here, but you only hear from him every so often and he rarely resolves a melody.
It's psychedelia without the showiness, funk without the syncopation, and blues without the ... well, without the blues, if that makes sense. (It doesn't.)
I listened to it twice. "Do It Clean," "Rescue," "Stars Are Stars," and "Villiers Terrace" were my favorites.
Dec 17 2025
Author
Classic post punk. One of my favorite bands to come out of that period. Didn't get the acclaim like The Smiths.The Cure and the Psychedelic Furs but definetly in my top five and this album, and Ocean Rain, are two of my favorite albums of all time. Every song a banger.
Nov 27 2025
Author
fajny do autka
Nov 06 2025
Author
No need to listen to this album as I have done so a hundred times before , seen the bunny men live a few times and this is their best album by someways. This album is in my top ten of all albums
Sep 26 2025
Author
2025-10-05: Another dose of absolute enjoyment after the previous albums. Am I that volatile in my listening experience?
Aug 28 2025
Author
Some debuts stumble around in search of identity, but Crocodiles confidently crawls out of the shadows. Immediately stylish in its songwriting and atmosphere, you'll know after the first three tracks if it's an album for you. The music's not as angular as Wire nor as nihilistic as Joy Division, but somewhere sharply in between. It's got enough teeth to grab you immediately and it's moody enough to put on when you want to inhabit a gloomy feeling. In its era, this is a five-star record, yet on the bradytelic timeline of the music of actual crocodiles, it may only be four stars in the night's sky.
Aug 28 2025
Author
Loved this way more than I expected to.
Aug 24 2025
Author
It's a cold October day in 1984, you're driving down to the South of England. You rummage through the unfamiliar car and find a tape from 4 years before and you put it in. You finally see the sign for Brighton as the end of Happy Death Men plays. A fitting song.
Aug 21 2025
Author
Deep and rocking tracks with emotive vocals and
Aug 11 2025
Author
Can't really be objective with this album. It is one of the first post-punk albums i ever heard and I LOVED it from the opening drum flourish to the opening crescendo of Going Up; WOW! I was hooked. I realize the album has its flaws (Happy Death Men), but so moany great songs. Villiers Terrace, the title track (Me i'm all smiles, I got my Croc-O-diles), Rescue, All That Jazz, Monyeys, Stars are Stars, Pictures on My Wall. I know I was onto a band that would become a part of me. 5 stars (though if being objective it would 4.5, but I can't)
Jul 23 2025
Author
Increíble que este álbum sea el debut de los Echo and the Bunnymen. Este nivel de genialidad se alcanza como al cuarto o quinto álbum, si es que se llega alguna vez, y al escuchar Crocodiles parece que estamos escuchando a una banda más que experimentada. Pronto le daré una segunda vuelta y le seguiré con el resto de los discos de Echo y los conejombres.
Jul 11 2025
Author
Again not a bad choice love echo.
Jul 08 2025
Author
Just great.
Jun 30 2025
Author
100% my thing.
Jun 18 2025
Author
This is #day313 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to post-punk classics again. It's crazy to think this came out 45 years ago. What makes this band stand out in the '80s scene is the psychedelic element in their music. While, say, The Chameleons (one of my favorite bands from the genre) leaned more into goth rock, ethereal wave, and dream pop, the Bunnymen embraced full-on psychedelia, though not without a trace of new wave and punk roots. The instrumentation on the debut is raw and tight: jagged guitars, metronomic drums, and a bouncy bassline. Very much in the vein of Jeopardy by The Sound (another all-time favorite). This is deep autumn music, for wet November days, when the trees are stripped bare... Straightforward, stark, beautiful in its own right. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day314.
Jun 11 2025
Author
Was super exciting
May 16 2025
Author
A dark and ethereal classic.
May 14 2025
Author
Love the guitar work, some of the best post-punk I've heard. Also like the fact that it's short and straight to the point without any dud tracks or anything that seems like filler
May 09 2025
Author
Perfection. Plain and simple
Apr 09 2025
Author
Solid
Apr 06 2025
Author
This list of albums you MUST hear before you die was put together by someone who really loves British post-punk, huh?
I also enjoy British post-punk, so I'm not mad about it.
Mar 28 2025
Author
Superb. The best bunnymen album.
Nov 01 2024
Author
There’s a buldge in my pants now
Oct 11 2024
Author
Det er jo dem med The Killing Moon.
Troede de var et one hit wonder band.
Okay det lyder af Joy Division. Samme mørke stemning og til tider det industrialiserede lydbillede som JD også havde på deres debut fra året før.
Det her er mega fedt 🖤 Nyt yndlings album. Weekenden skal vist bruges på at lytte mere af deres diskografi
Aug 04 2024
Author
There were two reasons I didn't listen to this band in the 80's. First, it wasn't heavy metal. Second, their name is silly. In the early 90's I had a roommate that gave me RHCP Freaky Styley. Turns out it was just the cover, it had an Echo and the Bunnymen album inside. I was truly surprised at how much I liked it. I don't remember which album it was, but I know it wasn't this one. This album is good but I think they have better. But that's all subjective innit.
This is the style of British New Wave I like. I'll probably dive into the rest of their discography today. Solid.
Jun 15 2024
Author
I am a fully signed up Bunnyhead (?) and this is as perfect a debut album as you could ask for. Ian Mcculloch is exactly who Jim Morrison might have been had he grown up in Liverpool in the late seventies, and one of music's best frontmen. De Freitas and Pattinson are a dream rhythm section, as 'angular' as other new wave bands but with a drive and melodic aspect others lacked. Will Sergeant created a guitar sound all of his own, enough said. Have I gone on about how unjust it is that U2 conquered the world while the Bunnymen, the finest of the post new-wave big 3 with them and Simple Minds, did not. It is unjust. The songs? Flawless apart from possibly Happy Death Men which does sound like something they knocked up in the studio in half an hour. 4.9999999. 'Heaven Up Here' is even better.
Apr 04 2024
Author
Kinda reminds me of Grunge
Mar 13 2024
Author
One of my all-time favorites (I very slightly prefer the first three Echo albums and the way the songs play with dissonance to other stuff by them but love their whole career). Villier's Terrace piano part and the Happy Death Men trumpets stood out to me in this listen through. That and Will Sargeant! He's such as virtuoso, doing rhythm guitar things that invite bits of more minimal space into the songs along with unexpected lead guitar licks all over on this album.
Feb 21 2024
Author
Excellent album from start to end.
Feb 11 2024
Author
I love the story from Bill Drummond about seeing the giant rabbit head in the twisted tree that supposedly noone else had noticed at the photo shoot.
I can't see anything else.
This record is so good my microwave died.
Feb 07 2024
Author
Echo and the Bunnymen is a classic too, very good mix of rock and new wave 😊 5/5
Jan 24 2024
Author
Really enjoyed this one
Nov 17 2023
Author
early 80's new wave fan girl here
Oct 29 2023
Author
This sounds like all those unidentified 80s songs people find on old cassettes, but if they were actually good. Cozy and romantic but also futuristic and ominous.
Sep 13 2023
Author
I really like this, I’ve never heard of this band before but it feels similar to The Talking Heads.
Aug 26 2023
Author
I was surprised to see I rated the other Echo album (which I rated 725 albums ago) 3 stars, even though I'm sure Spotify has put a few of their songs on random playlists for me and I enjoyed them then. Just the same, I really enjoyed the Crocodiles album as well. So maybe that's evolving taste, maybe it's evolving rating standards and maybe Echo And The Bunnymen need the listener to be in an appropriate mood to hit just right. Because this album really did hit just right. More of a 4.5 rounded up, rather than a clean 5, but a very good album just the same. I particularly enjoyed the textural depth of the instrumentation.
May 18 2023
Author
It's an interesting album and band.
Mar 17 2023
Author
Again another superclassic 5-star album, just like their second, third and fourth album, which presumably are included on the list as well.
Jan 23 2023
Author
Plagued with sadness and misery, this is a standout album of the Post-Punk era
Dec 02 2022
Author
Already one of my all time favourites!
Aug 05 2022
Author
"Crocodiles" is the debut album from Echo and the Bunnymen with two songs, "Pictures on My Wall" and "Rescue," on the album previously released as singles. This is quite an album. The music is described as post-punk and neo-psychdelic with imagery of darkness and sorrowfullness. Yes, that's all there. To me, the sound is sort of similar to Joy Division's "Closer" and Gang of Four. The band includes Ian McCulloch (singer), Will Sergeant (guitars), Les Pattinson (bass) and drummer Pete de Freitas whom they added after they signed to a label and were encouraged to add a drummer. One of the first things you notice is how prominent each of the band members are. They all make major to contributions to the songs and album as a whole. McCulloch's lyrics are dark and appear very personal. Given the imagery and personal nature leaves a lot of these songs open for interpretation. The lyrics and music match perfectly creating a great dark and somewhat haunting mood.
"Going up" starts the album with Pink Floyd type echoes. Check neo-pyschedelic. It builds with a solid rhythm section and sort of a slash-like guitar. "Do It Clean" has great drumming and absolutely great guitar in the middle. I have no idea what this is about, cleaning your room, doing cocaine??? My favorite song on the album is "Monkeys" with just a great guitar intro and chorus. The bass and drums create a great atmosphere. It sounds like the bass is carrying the melody. My guess it's about a change needed in a relationship.
The second side starts with their second single "Rescue" and probably their most recognized song on this album. Another great guitar intro going into the melody. Tremendous catchy vocal chorus. Definitely one of their best pop-type songs. The first single was "The Pictures on My Wall" and appears to have a more keyboard-focused chorus. More echoes. Neo-pyschedelia checked twice. The music is a great match for the lyrics which express a state of despair and paranoia.
Joy Division and Roxy Music typically get a lot accolades for the best-ever debut albums and rightfully so. But, this is also just a great debut, worthy of a listen and being on this list. They would also have a few other outstanding albums later on in the decade.
Jul 16 2022
Author
What a belter and a soundtrack to my youth!
Dec 29 2021
Author
very cool
Jul 14 2021
Author
5/5 - New wave? The Smiths? This hit the spot :D
Jul 08 2021
Author
Very cool
Jul 11 2021
Author
No está a la altura de Ocean Rain, pero bueno, qué puede estarlo. Sin embargo, bastante bueno.
May 20 2026
Author
Variety: 3 Adequacy: 5 Listenability: 5 Uniqueness: 3 Emotionality: 3 = 3.8 rounded up to a 4
"Can you hear it?/ The sound of something burning/
Something changing/ On the merry-go-round tonight"
I listened to this just once before and remember liking it enough, but scrolling through my iPod it looks like I mostly kept a selection of stuff from various albums. That was almost 20 years back, so maybe the heart has grown fonder? Like a lot of people my age I think I must have first been aware of these guys from "The Killing Moon" being on the Donnie Darko soundtrack. That's a hell of a measuring stick for even some all time great bands' best work to go up against, but if anything, I've become more accepting of the unsung and workmanlike material from bands that in previous years I would have dismissed out of hand. I am also very partial towards the post-punk era, and the UK acts from the period in particular, so don't expect too mush drama.
THE TRACKS
Side one
"Going Up" - Atmospheric, energetic and dark with our opener. Just what I would have expected. I think a lot of the music from acts like this owe much more of a debt to 60s psych and garage than most might think, and this comes off like a solid mix of some elements from that along with a decidedly krautrock influence in the rhythm section. McCulloch himself, like probably all of the singers from this period cannot help but to wear the Bowie influences on his sleeve. Maybe a tiny bit of Jim Morrison thrown in as well.
"Stars Are Stars" - Man, that guitar tone... whoo. Perfection to me. For a debut album, the band is showing a lot of craft and the steady hand to deliver it. While maybe not fully formed, they are closer than most at this point. This one kind of does it all, and has a kind of wall of sound quality ( good connotations there) that I'd stack up against some of the more experienced bands of the time. I think The Cure ( they will come up a lot in this review as they're sort of my measure of success for all the acts that were all circling similar aural territory) didn't get there until their second.
"Pride" - There's that motorik beat again to start us off. McCulloch leans heavier into the MOrrison vibes for his coals here, and we're lead along by a great bass line accented with some interested bits like a xylophone. This is crunchy in a Gang of Four way, and full of enough texture that it lands well enough, but doesn't quite make it over the edge into greatness for me.
"Monkeys" - This one does though. The Band is one of the few 80s acts I think that can ( occasionally) stand toe to toe with U2 for sheer epicness. Simple Minds is maybe the other big touchstone in that regard. Here it comes across largely in the short chorus which soars very effectively over the heads of a lot of bands who try this same trick.
"Crocodiles" - This one hits as well. The energy on display, generated from the driving rhythm section, and sustained by the ringing guitar lasts right up until the last note, and sacrificed not an ounce of tunefulness at the expense of all that power.
Side two
"Rescue" - This one feels much more in line with what their sound would develop into. A cleaner, more relaxed and confident sound, that doesn't bounce so hard off of a mainstream radio so hard. This is one I do occasionally hear on a certain satellite radio channel, and while it plays second fiddle to their biggest hit, I think is comparable in quality to "Bring on the Dancing Horses", "The Cutter", or "Lips Like Sugar".
"Villiers Terrace" - Another one that's fine enough, but which never hits those great heights and stays very squarely in the middle of the lane.
"Pictures on My Wall" - Here we go. Some gothy synths, the deep watery bass line, and the thunder effects on this downbeat number certainly push them towards, but not completely into, spooky bats and capes territory. Not sure they have ever been considered a goth band though. Like the Cure they probably did influence some goth bands though. they are just too bright and poppy in other regards.
"All That Jazz" - This was decent if a bit simple compared to everything around it. Getting some Banshees vibes off this, though not sure who would have been influencing who at this stage.
"Happy Death Men" - The goth-adjacent rep must have only been fueled by this track. Subject matter, the discordant touches, the echoey vocals, and the all around dark atmosphere serve the idea well that these guys were possibly chumming around with the likes of Bauhaus. Maybe not Sisters of Mercy though. There's too much glam left in them here to go full goth. The Doors "The End" is definitely a chaotic touchpoint for how this wraps up though. Wonderful.
HIGHLIGHTS
- "Going Up"
- "Stars Are Stars"
- "Monkeys"
- "Crocodiles"
- "Rescue"
- "Pictures on My Wall"
- "Happy Death Men"
MIDLIGHTS
- "Pride"
- "Villiers Terrace"
- "All That Jazz"
LOWLIGHTS
-
FINAL THOUGHTS
The story goes that if Ian McCulloch hadn't been such a bell end during press, the band would have gotten a better shake. I'm not so sure though unless all this praise I'm seeing is all just 20/20 hindsight. Seems like the critics liked their stuff just fine. And in the few interview snippets I've watched it seems pretty obvious McCulloch is trying to be funny. Maybe he was more of a jerk behind the scenes and it made existing as a cohesive unit an untenable situation. Who knows. I can say it doesn't really seem like any sort of tragedy to me considering they released a good six albums during their heyday, with another six over the years as a legacy act. So I can't exactly feel sorry for them or mourn some sort of Cire-like career they might have had. I think this seems about right, and likely they got a better shake than most.
Musically this was all gravy to me. The whole thing sits right in my wheelhouse, and I could easily see throwing this on in the future. I see we have two more albums by these guys waiting in the wings, and I'm looking forward to them.
PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS
- Nah
FURTHER LISTENING
- Boy by U2
- From the Lions Mouth by The Sound
- Seventeen Seconds by The Cure
- Script of the Bridge by The Chameleons
- The Blurred Crusade by The Church
May 18 2026
Author
"Crocodiles" is a solid debut album. The melodies are creative and interesting, and the musicianship is first-rate.
May 09 2026
Author
bom pra cacete hein pqp
o sentimento de escuridão e miséria nesse aqui é brutal tá doido
May 09 2026
Author
climinha RUIM nesse daqui, coisa boa demais. ainda tem umas guitarrinha boa pra caramba aqui hein
bão DEMAIS. mas ainda nao eh o peak deles né, só um ótimo debut!!
May 08 2026
Author
Пост-панк как пост-панк, добавил, конечно, себе, но вряд ли часто возвращаться буду
May 08 2026
Author
Pretty cool. The song writing is interesting and I especially enjoyed the guitars. I think they sound a bit like U2 at times. Favorites: Do It Clean, Villers Terrace, All that Jazz. The only song I didn't like was Happy Death Man. The rest were okay and could probably grow on me with repeated listens.
Apr 27 2026
Author
I like new wave and goth. It’s just atmospheric and fun. I liked the other album (Porcupine) maybe a little more overall, but I enjoyed this debut
Apr 27 2026
Author
Did not expect to like the album as much as I did. Standouts were "Crocodiles", "Rescue" , "Villiers Terrace" and "All That Jazz". The bass and guitar was really great.
Apr 25 2026
Author
Much as I like Echo and the Bunnymen, this wouldn't be my favourite of their albums. But I'd certainly rate this a solid 4.
In the club I used to frequent in the early 80s, there was a punter who looked like McCulloch. His Pernod and black got spilt on my jacket, leaving a near permanent stain. I don't think it was the real McCulloch!
Apr 21 2026
Author
Uncharacteristically huge sounding post-punk. Still rather goth-y and dark, bery anthemic, reminiscent of early early U2, I wonder why they didn't become such as big. I love the way the cover photograph is lit, such an otherworldly feel. And their two other albums on this list are even better.
Key tracks:
Stars Are Stars
Pride
Pictures on My Wall
Happy Death Men
Apr 19 2026
Author
This was good. Can definitely hear the influence on The Cure.
Apr 16 2026
Author
Spikier than their later stuff, really good
Apr 06 2026
Author
All day
Apr 02 2026
Author
Cerramos semana cortísima con el debut de los grosos de Echo And The Bunnymen. Qué género hermoso el punk y todo lo que generó: que el post-punk, que lo gótico, que el new wave y el darkwave. Y así hasta el infinito.
Hasta la semana que viene.