Porcupine

This one does some really interesting things instrumentally where at some points it sounds almost like surf rock. This one was pretty good. Favorite songs were The Cutter, Back Of Love, Clay, and Porcupine.

Some interesting the cure-type stuff! A bunch of atypical harmonies that I really enjoyed. Not bad

I think this struggled in the shadow of being the follow up to Heaven Up Here. And it’s true being good not great.

Echo and the Bunnymen are a band that should have gotten more recognition outside of England. They make good, melodic post-punk. I might go so far as to give one of their albums 4 stars, but this isn't it. (I like the album, but it's not one I must listen to before I die. More proof the project should have stopped at 500. Maybe less.)

***An ok album, easy listening

na

Me chilleo y me aburrió

This is fun! 4.5

I only knew them through there radio hits like Lips Like Sugar. This is my first time listening to a full album and I'm quite pleasantly surprised. They certainly have a template for their songs and structures, so there were many times I thought they were starting a song I knew only to find it was some other song with a similar vibe. So let's just say their songs rhyme a bit more than ideal. But enjoyable none the less.

This is not good. I even went back to the beginning of the album after getting through a few songs to see if I missed anything. And it's not terrible, like I initially thought, but it's still not good. The Wikipedia blurb that the website pulled, praised it for its emotional highs and lows, but that never really came through for me. Were the highs supposed to be the vocalist screaming/yelling, and the lows him singing in his lower register? Because the band never really followed his emotional lead. Combine that with instrumentation that always felt like it was trying really hard to impress you, forced into the songs in a kind of unnatural sounding way. It just never really clicks and struggles to sound like a great album to me. My favorite song also ends up being a bit of a pity song. Like there's something here, but none of them are really all that interesting. Favorite Song(s): Heads Will Roll

A really good album, I remembered liking it years back but it's even better than I remember. Not a top tier of that era and genre, but pretty up there.

Echo & The Bunnymen haven't struck my fancy in the past, but this album was pretty good. I enjoyed listening to it, though I wouldn't likely reach for it again.

Oddly enough I got the first Bunnymen album a week ago and the contrast in style and craft is very apparent, but is this following the evolution of post punk into new wave? Even Ian McCulloch no longer sounds like an outright Bono/Jim Kerr impersonator, but there are still moments. Tidy album, "The Cutter" being the standout, a great opener.

After a while, every song on this album began to sound the same to me. I enjoyed The Cutter but that's probably the only song I would add to a playlist..

A less shitty version of The Shitty Doors than Joy Division's version of The Shitty Doors.

Like a lost early U2 album where they had listened to some Joy Division. I had listened to Ocean Rain before, but never any of these songs. Really enjoyed it!

The singer's voice annoys me

Here goes another front-loaded forgone conclusion from my self-fulfilled teenage prophecies. This was probably when I first heard about the Echomans from MTV. I mean, don't you also get it? Ian & Will et al were, in my (already post-CD, post-post-vinyl era) rock solid opinion, on a decades long streak of brilliant hook-driviness... from punk, to post-punk, to post-Ian, to post-Noel, to post-pessimist, to post-Echo & The Bunnymen, all adroitly administered by a more or less human rhythm section. Stuffy critic me wants to set 'Heaven Up Here' as the standard for its greatest impact on the population of the universe of N=1 (me)... Porcupines is just about as prickly.

Good stuff, not like some of the later more refined EAB stuff, still quite good.

Cool album, although nothing really jumped out at me. Vocals sounded a bit like black star David Bowie, also similar to marquee moon

Yeah it’s fine

Not quite a five but rounding up. I wish I discovered this record sooner.

Bem gótico

Ahh I needed this synth, punk-y album today. The lyrics are good and creative. A lot of these songs are existential or concern religion, which I didn't necessarily expect from Echo & the Bunnymen but appreciate anyway. The album had a great flow, which was aided by connecting themes. The lead singer's vocals are more drone-y than I'd like, but it sure made the album flow well. Porcupine is my third Echo & the Bunnymen album and is perhaps their strongest, or at least is the one I've enjoyed the most.

This is the third Echo and the Bunnymen album I've had on this project. One thing I've learned about myself as it pertains to them, I don't absolutely LOVE a lot of their music, but I do consistently like it. Their approach to the post-punk, new wave-y genre is solid, and they approach it solidly and with an unmistakable, unique flair. They just feel effortlessly cool. Typically there is one or two songs per Echo album that really stand out to me. With "Porcupine", that was not the case, but still, the album as a whole was pretty good.

So I gave this album two chances. One in the morning and one in the evening. And I disliked the album on both listening events. The biggest turn off was the lead singer. His vocals were all over the place. It’s the sort of music I’d imagine people listening to in 6th form or start of Uni to be edgy. Some of the guitar interludes were decent. But the arty aspect of the album really put me off. On Gods will be Gods they used what sounded like an echo machine - on both the vocals and drums. Maybe they were going after that ethereal style - but quickly became my audio hell. This was followed by UFO sounds and the Warbling of the lead singer. Honestly the best part of the song was it randomly cutting off at the end mid sentence. Honestly my horror when I thought I’d finished with the album to see they had recorded a B side of 6 of the album songs. 1/5 really not a fan. Not looking forward to hearing another echo and bunny man album.

The album is opens with a good pace with The Cutter, giving me The Cure vibes with a melancholic uplift. This whole record oozes 80s cliches and it really does it well at times, with ethereal synths, strings, and jangly guitar parts. The goth crooner shtick does occasionally gets tiresome on some of the slower / experimental numbers. There are better 80s album but it has peaked mg interest to listen to more Echo.

I think maybe I don’t understand post punk because I probably would’ve called this brit pop-esque

4.4/5 great for studying

I'm finding more and more that I'm really into this style of rock.

I was ready to leave a comment that I thought porcupine was a great band name but here I see that’s the album name. Echo and the bunnymen isn’t so great. I loved the album though. It introduced me to a playlist called College Rock and this is my jam.

It's probably my bad. I have never been able to get it, concerning Echo & The Bunnymen. Yes, I quite like the music, it's okay, like a less commercial - which is good, of course - version of U2 with maybe a better singer, but it just doesn't grab me. I've listened five times. And I still hardly can remember any of the songs, except for the opener 'The cutter' which might be the best track of the album. The rest just rolls along, no weak points, no strong either. Sorry.

Previously rated: Ocean Rain (3/5) Crocodiles (4/5) ********************* This album would be better in smaller doses. I liked the first couple of tracks, but the singer's echoey droning got tiresome and the songs started sounding the same. Best track: The Cutter

Really bland. The album runs for more than 50 minutes but nothing stands out for the entire runtime. The production sounds very 80s and of its time, for today's ears very dated. Can't help but think that I've heard this kind of music so much better and more interesting from other musicians a lot of time already.

There was another Echo and the Bunnymen album on this list. I don’t mind it, but I think only one was necessary.

I fucking love Echo & The Bunnymen. Ian McCulloch never phones it in on vocals, he's always going all out putting everything into it and I love that. The sounds are incredible, great production

3.4 2x good but not super memorable

minere meinig na relativ bedütigslose rock mit emne mittelmässige sänger und wenig abwechslig sowohl in rhythme als au harmonik.

I liked their other album Ocean Rain. This one suffers too much from harsh 80s production. It doesn't feel essential to me. Favorite song: clay.

A more commercial album that the other two Echo albums this generator has given me. Somehow straddles the line between poppy new wave 80s grooves and the more dramatic post-punk sounds I associate with the band, and in this case I think it's an improvement.

Echo And The Bunnymen ist eine britische Band aus Liverpool. „Porcupine“ ist ihr drittes Studioalbum, das im Jahr 1983 erschien. Produziert wurde es von Ian Broudie. Das Album wurde in mehreren Studios aufgenommen, darunter Rockfield Studios in Südwales, Trident Studios in London und Amazon Studios in Liverpool. Die abschließende Abmischung erfolgte in weiteren Londoner Studios. Die Band ist englischer Herkunft und zählt zur Post-Punk- und New-Wave-Szene. Bekannte und stilprägende Songs sind „The Cutter“, „The Back of Love“ und der Titeltrack „Porcupine“. Diese Stücke zeichnen sich durch markante Gitarrenlinien, eindringlichen Gesang und dichte Arrangements aus. Einige Songs enthalten Beiträge des indischen Violinisten Shankar, was dem Album zusätzliche Klangfarben verleiht. Stilistisch bewegt sich das Album zwischen Post-Punk, New Wave und Elementen des Indie Rock. Die Atmosphäre ist meist dunkel, die Produktion bewusst rau belassen, wodurch die emotionale Spannung verstärkt wird. Persönlich fällt auf, dass das Album im Vergleich zu seinen Vorgängern geschlossener und ernster wirkt. Die Texte und musikalischen Strukturen spiegeln einen introspektiven Charakter wider, was der Gesamtwirkung Tiefe verleiht. Das Album bietet eine kohärente, konzentrierte Klangästhetik und zeigt eine Band im Übergang zwischen Rohheit und kontrollierter Klanggestaltung.

This group getting 3 spots on this list was not necessary.

Decent sound, didn't really gravitate to a particular track. I felt it was all a bit of the same.

soft emo music from the early 80's not my style but not too bad

I went back and looked at the reviews I had for the other two E&TB albums. And I felt the same things for this that I did the others: 1) Goth-y Cure-vibe, which is just not for me. 2) Although the songs are different, no one song stands out among the others. I can't really give you top tracks, because none stood out among the others. I gave the other two a meh before, and this gets a meh as well. Meh.

Echo and the Bunnymen get 3 albums on the 1,001 list? At least this one has their favorite track of mine - The Cutter. It starts off the album with such a bang...and then it just sort of fizzles and plateaus. It wasn't until Heads Will Roll that I pricked my ears up again. I don't dislike these guys, but they don't really captivate me.

Same reaction as the other two Echo and the Bunnymen album I've heard - they're like a weirder, darker version of U2, and that's ok (especially The Back of Love - that could absolutely be a U2 song). Not sure they needed three albums on the 1001, but I enjoyed all of them. Definitely liked the addition of Shankar's raga violin on The Cutter and Heads Will Roll (I saw him play with Peter Gabriel, so I like that connection, too). Favorite tracks: The Cutter, My White Devil, Clay, Heads Will Roll, Higher Hell.

Not great. Not horrible. A little below average. Would not choose to listen to again.

Sort of reminded me of Duran Duran. At least that was the first band that came to mind. I love 80s music but had not heard of this band before, However, I’m more into 80s Pop. On to the next album. There were a lot of “alternate versions” of songs on this album, which I wasn’t really interested in listening to the same song more than once.

I love me some Echo And The Bunnymen. They are one of my fav 80s new wave bands and this was a very enjoyable album listen for me. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them live and they were great. I would definitely check this album out again!

Is this better than ocean rain? Maybe, although my rating states it is but maybe I rated ocean rain too low, I thought this was an amazing album with no song really being weak at all , maybe it’s a bit samey and less varied than ocean rain but I think it’s not a problem when it’s all good. It’s kind of dark and gloomy but also not, it’s kind of weird like that but I guess that’s their whole sound, catchy new wave with a dark, psychedelic twist although if I am comparing ocean rain this one is a lot more upbeat, the rhythm guitar and bass is so good throughout aswell. Overall, 9/10.

Full marks for all the musical ideas (and where the f*** did they get their name!) and sheer ambition for this album. Mostly translates into an enjoyable listen but not always. Was generally a best of listener up until now. Will delve deeper

Great instrumentation throughout. Stopped just short of a 5 as maybe liked a bit of variety although I appreciated the consistent mood and atmosphere - could imagine this as the musical accompaniment for a ferry ride with Charon..

I really wanted to like this more than I did. Very of it’s time with quite a few filler tracks. Good, but not memorable.

Excited for this one. The cutter is a great start. Back of love is also great. Porcupine! Another banger! This is great. I liked. 4/5⭐️

Album was good but didn't hang with me much. Hard one to write a detailed review on from my listen. May have been the day.

Okay a second Echo And The Bunnymen album. Cool album cover. I like the instrumentation on some of the tracks. Seems like a cohesive album. Ultimately this is forgettable for me.

Rousing.

Pretty decent. I'm not the biggest fan of the vocals, but I like the guitar parts, and the overall vibe. Only the lead track (The Cutter) really stood out to me. I'm on the fence between giving this a 3 or a 4, but I definitely preferred it to the previous album, so I'll bump it up to 4

Great

It's just okay

Ended better than it started. Worst Song: The Cutter Best Song: My White Devil, Clay, Heads Will Roll Added to Liked Songs: My White Devil, Clay, Porcupine, Heads Will Roll, In Bluer Skies

I prefer Heaven Up Here which I think overall has better songs and production. However, you can hear on this one that they are developing towards their masterpiece Ocean Rain. I'm always surprised when O read reviews saying they are melancholic or even whiny. I hear them as much too spaced out for that.

eh

It was fine.

It was okay. It is not something I’d go out of my way for. Has a good chill vibe to it.

I remember liking their other album, crocodiles, way more. Very much still sounding like the cure which is a cool unique vibe. This one just seems a little, odd.

Only know a couple songs by these guys, but I largely liked the album a lot. Wasn't able to save the songs, but did like a good number of them. Definitely will be revisiting again.

Pretty cool.

I don’t know who these Bunnymen are but I sure like their sound. I will listen to this again. Really like the sparse sound.

Another great album by them. This one is a bit more energetic and engaging. Maybe a tiny bit more punk on the bass line? Great album.

Nice old school vibe

Like early U2 if they had been cooler. Pretty good example of what the edgy kids were listening to in 1983. I thought Ian McCullough sounded a lot like Bono from the same time period (pre-Unforgettable Fire).

I've always said this about the post-punk genre - you're not making good music just because you think you're being subversive and ironic - random dissonant sounds shouldn't be taken seriously as 'innovative' - it's lazy. This is the first post-punk album I've heard on this list that bucks that trend. There are some hallmarks of the genre but you can tell that they actually gave a shit about the music and how this sounds at the end. Still not my absolute favorite genre of music, but this is the best of class in my book.

2.5 Not good. Kind of what was wrong with the 80s. Grating voice, music that seems to draw inspiration from both the smiths and talking heads without any of the talent that those bands were composed of. Not much to savour here.

Decent

I listened to this album three times. Every time, I just didn't care. Which is why I listened to it three times. It's just nothing to me, like hold music or distant construction sounds.

Hadn’t heard this one before. I think it might be their most consistently great record. Some really excellent tunes here.

Absolutely not.

Not liking this at all. I heard The Cutter when it was released and was uninspired. There is a slight Doors influence, Don’t You Love Her Madly, but I don’t like The Doors.

nothing special to me. didn't listen thoroughly tho. maybe once again

A very clever album. I am not too sure if I agree with it.

In some ways I feel I owe some sort of loyalty to my generation. Early 80’s was when I was in my late teens/early 20s. And The Cutter and The Back Of Love were banger songs from my formative years which I liked as much as anyone else down the student nightclubs. So surely I should rate this album? I gave it a good go. First listen… it all seemed a bit waily. Just a bit monotonous. Give it another go! Headphones. Better? Not really. Still a bit…nothing. 3 listens. No I’m wasting my time. Believe what you hear. Dullness.

Pretty good, well aware of the band and have seen them live but for some reason I never went into their back catalogue. It’s very of its time and a little samey but some great stuff there.

Loved this one. Dark, depressed, angsty, existential white boy alt rock. Obviously reminiscent of Joy Division, the crescendos on different tracks hit hard. Interested in hearing more from E&tBM.

# Playlist Track - The Cutter # Notes - Not taking into consideration the extra tracks from the extended album. - Opening is fantastic, but the album loses steam as it goes. It's not a bad album, but nowhere close to Ocean Rain, for example. - Really dug the marimba (?) solo in My White Devil. - I've been getting way too many brits on this list.

Another 80s haunting masterpiece.

It was okay, got repetitive

This is the 151st album I’m rating. I don't know what this shit is and frankly I'm not expecting anything good because I saw the words post and punk on the Wikipedia page. Adding to my Playlist - The Cutter, Back of Love, and Heads will Roll. Not Adding to my Playlist - My White Devil, Clay, Porcupine, Ripeness, Higher Hell, Gods will be Gods, and In Bluer Skies. The Cutter- Nevermind. Post-punk is kinda good. All in all I liked 3/10 songs. Literally the best post-punk album I've ever listened to.

Seemed interesting at first but trailed off into ok pretty quick.

The only part of this album I got any enjoyment from was the 10 seconds of fast guitar strumming on Gods Will Be Gods.

6/10

I don’t know what it was, but I kind of wanted to love this one. A post-punk album with some shades of gloom feels right up my alley. But after listening to this, I couldn’t quite get into it. Something felt off. Maybe it was the way all the songs blended together. Outside of Porcupine, most of the songs sounded kind of the same, or at least felt extremely similar. This made going through the album a bit of a slog. There are some good moments, for sure, and I like the overall The Cure vibe these guys bring. But now I just want to listen to The Cure. The reviews here made it clear this will not be my last time with this band. Though, I can’t say this was a great first impression… Favorite track: Higher Hell Other hits: Porcupine, Clay, In Bluer Skies, Gods Will Be Gods, The Cutter

It’s fine in its post-punk new-wavey way, but it’s borne terribly exiting, and doesn’t have any standout tracks like some of their other stuff. I didn’t hate it.

This is the third Echo & the Bunnymen album I’ve hit on this list. They’re good, I like them fine, but there is no reason to include this alongside the others. Just do Ocean Rain and call it good

First listen

fíla safnplötuna. mörg ágæt lög, en á þessari virðist vanta hittara. gef þó aðra yfirferð, 3,5.

3.5

Buen álbum, más no imprescindible. No creo que volvería a escucharlo la verdad.

I didn't like this one, it didn't really capture my attention at any point. The instrumentals felt pretty on par for the post-punk UK wave of the 80s, the singing wasn't too noteworthy either. They get weird at times, but it didn't feel effective or too interesting. I feel like there are much more interesting records in the same space and I wouldn't really pick this one over them. It wasn't bad, it was just average for me. If I had to pick a song, I'd pick "Heads Will Roll". Loved the cover art though, great photo.

My heart sank when i saw this as i'd had my fill of dreary 80's indie rock, but this turned out better than hoped. There was an upbeat, driving rhythm that really propelled it forward. The vocal i could take or leave but the rhythm section and the production stood out.

Just overall kind of boring. Like they are obviously good musicians and write some great hits, but I was waiting for the album to be over.

This starts with two absolute classics then slowly fades away. In a different mood or a different album this would be an album I might have stuck with but ultimately it's not quite consistent enough.

Pretty cool. Maybe a 4

I enjoyed it

Echo is better than average New Wave. This doesn’t have Killing Moon which is cool with me - Spotify’s algorithm has overplayed that song for me. This isn’t mind blowing but it’s not a chore to listen to.

I ought to like these guys but it does not move me. Maybe if I'd been born five years later I would have loved it. Or maybe it's just not very good. It's hard to rationalise these things sometimes 😐

I like it! Feels like a precursor to a lot of the 00s indie rock I love. Illegitimate FS: Never Stop - Discotheque remix

Further proof that Simon from misfits was always the mvp. The end of gods will be gods whew! What a concept!

Ok, excellent opener. Brings me back to the 80's. Kinda of sounds like a more complex and diverse "Your love", "I ran" kinda of song. Excellent bass, nice voice. Positively surprised.

It's strange to consider that for most Americans, this band is almost exclusively known for The Killing Moon's appearance in Donnie Darko, a movie whose soundtrack is more influential than anything depicted on screen. What has always struck me about The Bunnymen, especially in comparison to their post-punk peers, is how big they sound, even as just a quartet. Not loud, necessarily, though there are well placed uses of volume, but more the sense that their sound could fill the largest house of worship you could build. And yet despite the enormity of their sound, they generally eschew any pull they might feel towards "anthemic"; there is no Teen Age Riot, there is no That's When I Reach for My Revolver, there is no How Soon Is Now? They occupy the space between those things - plaintive and mournful, propulsive and intentional, ambitious and angular. You might have a religious experience listening to them, but they can't guarantee that it's gonna be a *happy* one.

Forgettable.

I enjoyes the instrumentals of this. Very 80's sounding. The vocals were fine but got a little one-note ovwr the whole album. Good album overrall though

Better than most British rock bands I have come across. I definitely enjoyed some songs enough to want to listen to them again.

This had alot of the elements of new wave that I really love, combined with several vocal performances that reminded me of U2. The first half was really good, but the second half really lost steam.

Like it. Favourite track is The Cutter 3/5

The cutter is some tune. The rest of it was alright, it sounded a little like a better version of the cure

Mid. Sleep inducing. 2/5

Similar sound to one of my favorite albums of all time, U2's War. I need to add this to my playlist to really get proper enjoyment out of it. 4/5

I remember when we first saw Echo & The Bunnymen. Len Houmous said with great vigour that these were the guys to watch, the next big thing. He said the same thing about The Cheeky Girls! 4.3 7/11 Ripeness

Det är lite för långt för att jag ska orka med hans röst så länge. Hans röst blir lite för jämrig och lite för new-wave:ig på något sätt. Men på det stora hela så gillar jag det ändå. Det känns som sofistikerad musik

begon goed... maar verzakte rap in het moeras van gezwollen zang en steeds dezelfde riffjes...

Second album après 'Crocodiles' assez apprécié (noté 3/5). J'aime toujours les lignes de basse, et on retrouve dans cet album des morceaux vraiment originaux (structure, harmonie, ambiance) comme 'Porcupine' ou 'Gods will be gods'. Mais il manque toujours le petit plus qui me ferait ajouter l'album à ma collection. Il faudra que je le ré-écoute. =>3/5

Didn’t knock me over like ‘Ocean Rain’, but I did like it more than ‘Crocodiles’. Psychedelic, dramatic, and fairly dark. I enjoyed the melodies and guitar textures (see: “Clay”) throughout. A dire Thatcher-era pop record. I’d give this a 3.5 if I could, and usually I would round up, but because I was so astonished by one of their other albums I feel like I have to be more critical. I will say I could see myself revisiting and forming a more positive opinion, because there were parts of this I thought absolutely smacked.

Brit rock, pretty deep feeling soundstage. Liked it

Meh

Not my cup of tea but gets an extra star for being more sonically interesting than the group's other effort.

The Cutter is an excellent song. Echo and the Bunnymen are a decent band with a few real standout songs, though their albums on the whole aren't as standout.

The jangly, angular style of this music appeals to me. I'm coming to the conclusion that there's a stylistic middle ground for me. Too smooth, no thanks. Too angry, too jagged, no thanks. But a U2, a Peter Gabriel, or, as it turns out, an Echo & The B-Men - those I like. I don't recall hearing much from this release when it first came out. There were definitely other tracks that got radio play and that I enjoyed. This is interesting music.

Cutter slaps, I enjoyed alternatives a lot more

Pre-generator I had a default level of respect for Echo and the Bunnymen, based on the couple of tunes I knew and their reputable standing in the music world, but, three albums in, that respect is being eroded - they're definitely over-represented on this list. They seem to prioritise big walls of sounds over well-crafted songs, but unfortunately those sounds are, too often, not especially pleasant to listen to. The Cutter is a strong start but it's pretty much downhill from there.

Evidently we've had 3, (THREE!) E&tB albums and I've managed to avoid all of them until now. haha For me, E&tB makes me think of the real Bunnyman himself, Donnie Darko. And, of course, its theme song (also by the Bunnymen). From there, my mind goes to the lore of rural Virginia's Bunny Man before wrapping around to the album... Sonically, this sounds like a blend between The Cure, Midnight Oil and The Church. There's some good nuggets in this. I get why it's on the list. Definitely a keeper. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunny_Man

Our third Echo and the Bunnymen album leaves me conflicted. I enjoyed the first two more than I thought I would. A year later, I listened to "Porcupine" in two separate sittings, which each left me with different impressions. The first half left me annoyed. I forgot the other two albums and harped on Ian McCulloch's voice, which sat squarely in a zone I'm really sick of from way too many similar whines on the 1001. But I must have been in a better mood for the second half. The vocals didn't annoy as much, and apparently as with the other albums, I appreciated the guitars and bass. But despite winding up enjoying this, it's another subgenre I'm gonna need an extended break from as soon as we're done with this.

Why so moan-y??

This sounds just like U2. Still haven’t decided if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

I’m with dmo here, the vocals sound like U2. I also don’t know if that is bad or good, but they sound like a worse version of U2, which isn’t good.

Great rock album. The instrumentals are dense, the lyrics are interesting, and the vocals are enjoyable. I do not love every song, but I like this album a pretty good amount. I would probably revisit.

Very very good album, good for studying and overall concentration and working

Very fun album, had a great experience listening to this album

Really enjoyed that

Banger first song, the rest is okay and kind of forgettable.

Great album!

This was a good time mostly, the middle section kinda dragged but it started and finished pretty strongly.

I enjoyed the other albums I've had from this group, but for some reason this one didn't really click with me much. It still sounds pretty good and there are some cool riffs like in Ripeness, but as I was flipping through the songs after listening, I realized I couldn't really discern most songs from each other. I think Fuel is my favorite, kind of sounds like something Peter Gabriel would produce.

There were parts of this I really enjoyed, others felt a bit lightweight. Decent enough

Not my thing. Heads Will Roll was solid though.

Really nice album some great tracks. Always got time for it quality

Good stuff!

Oh boy...

The Cutter is great The rest of this is fine at best and it’s not often at its best A generous 3

Я дуже люблю творчість цього гурт і він для мене є одним із найцікавіших гуртів, що є втіленням експериментального постпанку 80-х. Після доволі сильних попередніх двох альбомів, на Porcupine гурт по максимально спрямував в себе у готичний бік, та представив ледь не найскладніший та найтемніший матеріал, що колись робив. Навіть не дивлячись, що у той час гурт ледь не розвалювався, їм вдалося зібрати до купи багатошарові звукові конструкції з купою дрібних деталей. Особливо, мені в ньому подобається як «готичний дискомфорт», що огортає пісні, які структурно є звичайними поп-треками. Але за рахунок пронизливих гітар, та щільного звуку - вони перетворюються на щось тривожне та трохи моторошне. Якщо ж слухати альбом дуже уважно та намагатися розібратися в усіх наявних звукових особливостях (особливо в Gods Will Be Gods), то може навіть стати трохи погано від запаморочення голови. Чи був це продуманий сонрайтинг, чи навпаки чистий хаотичний експеримент, я не знаю, але головне, що завдяки ньому ми отримали один із найтехнічніших та найвигадливіших класичних постпанк релізів. Про цей альбом важко сказати щось погане, адже він майже не має слабих сторін і якби не моя любов до вишуканих «мрійливих» пасажів на Ocean Rain, саме Porcupine був би моїм найулюбленішим.

Cool. Music matches the frigidity of the cover. Feels very arctic. Never quite reaches the haunt they achieved with killing moon, but close enough.

So awesome... making 80s cool, somewhere between post punk new wave and new romantic.

Ooh, I actually did know Echo & The Bunnymen before this adventure started, so I guess that gives some shoegaze cred. That being said, this is another straight 3 stars on this list. I wished I loved or hated it, but I just can't. It is... perfectly fine.

Pos punk! Gostei!!

Scouse raincoat rock. Reverb vocals, spiky guitars and miserable drum beats. It is relentlessly mopey - like that goth kid standing in the corner of the house party. I'm not sure we need 3 albums from this lot on here. One is enough. Best Tracks: The Cutter; Back of Love; Gods Will Be Gods

point9.

First listen to this, nice.

It's fine. Nothing too cool or too bad. If I could give it a 2.5 I would but I gotta figure out if it's a 2 or a 3. Hmmm. We'll I guess it wasn't bad per say.

cool

Weirdly dark and atmospheric, I kinda like it but I feel like I need more time with it. It doesn't really stick in your head.

Kind of surprised to see another album from them on the list. This is the second for me and apparently there's one more. Seems a bit odd to have three albums from them, but that's the world we live in I guess. I wasn't super familiar with Echo and the Bunnymen before I started this list. I really liked Crocodiles so I'm not upset at seeing this come up at all today. This record is still solid, but I think I like Crocodiles a bit better. Really, I don't feel like we needed more than one album from them on this list despite having liked both so far. I'd give this one a 3.25/5.

Gear: Abyss DIANA MR Artwork: 🥶🥶🥶🥶 Production (2004 Remaster): 🤔😐👍 Music: ♻️🕳️😒 Rating: 🦔🐇/5

Bueno

A bit boring, but not bad

Baffled they have 3 albums. And I really like Ocean Rain. This is more of the same, just a little less bombastic. As far as New Wave goes you can do so, SO much worse.

I did not like this at all. Boring and nothing unique.

Feel like this English rock type sound is just done better by other bands, not impressed

Sounds like U2 having more fun

Solid, focused, fine.

Another one of those obviously influential British albums I don't really enjoy that much.

I was always aware of Echo and the Bunnymen but had never delved into their catalogue. I wasn’t aware how cool their sound was, this album had a lot of really cool ideas going on, they mix gloom with punchy sharp guitars all with excellent passionate vocals. Definitely hear a mix of Cure and Joy Division, the song structure is complex and quite pretty overall. Sounds fresh 40 years later, just really great music here. 5 stars

83% Best: The Cutter; Heads Will Roll; Ripeness Must-Hear? Sure

Didn't inspire much

# Album Name: Porcupine # Artist: Echo and the Bunnymen # Rating: 3/5 # Comments: The cutter. What a song. If that doesnt lift you up i dont know what will. Great opener to the album. The album falls off a cliff quality wise after that. It simply cant live up to the opening track. Back of love and god will be gods were good tracks. The rest seem like fillers on a first listen. Maybe this one will grow but at the moment its a solid 3. # Top Tunes: Cutter / back of love / god will be gods # Would I listen to it again? I might come back for a second listen

It was fine.

4.5, but rounding up :P

Great album to have a listen to, would jam it again

4/5 can a stranger please ask me what I’m listening to while I’m listening to this so I can tell them and feel cool

This was certainly a change from EDM

Really cool instrumentation here. I feel like my experience from this suffer because I wasn’t watching the lyrics at the same time. I’m curious to listen more to hear to see if this is indeed a ripoff

ok, but nothing that vibes with me

You know the albums getting worse when the volume on streaming services randomly decreases. I've never been so disappointed. The first song was pretty good and the second song was honestly great. What happened after that? It's just so bland, kind of annoying. It feels like I've been listening to the same song on loop and I still can't pick up any melody.

Mahtipontinen brittiläispunkki(ko?) bändi. Loppupeleissä kummallinen albumi enkä tiedä miksi tällä listalla

While I grasp the ambitious intent of **Echo and the Bunnymen's** *Porcupine* (1983)—which attempts to blend the band’s signature sweeping post-punk with Eastern and orchestral textures—the album ultimately falls short of being a truly distinct statement. Despite the inclusion of hits like "The Cutter" and Will Sergeant's compelling guitar work, the overall sound and moody, anthemic scope feel less like a bold new direction and more like a skillful, yet familiar, distillation of the post-punk soundscapes I had already thoroughly explored by their contemporaries.

This is a good album. But I’ve gotten a lot of post punk albums and they all kind of run together.

Das Album markierte eine düsterere, intensivere Phase der Band. Mit einer Mischung aus dramatischem Post-Punk und atmosphärischen Klanglandschaften zeigt das Album eine Entwicklung in ihrem Sound – jedoch nicht ohne Herausforderungen. Die eindringlichen, oft melancholischen Songs wie *The Cutter* und *Heads Will Roll* sind von einer fast apokalyptischen Stimmung geprägt, die das Album sowohl faszinierend als auch schwer zugänglich macht. Während die Instrumentation und die poetischen Texte beeindrucken, fehlt *Porcupine* stellenweise die Eingängigkeit früherer Werke. Der experimentelle Ansatz sorgt für Tiefe, wirkt aber auch sperrig. Deswegen insgesamt solide aber auch nicht mehr.

Beetje schreeuwerige zang, maar verder wel leuke muziek. Doet me een klein beetje aan U2 denken.

It was alright. It's like the Cure but not mopey and depressing.

So boring

Surprisingly good 80s music you never knew existed

Love it and the memories it brings back Plus, what a.great band name

I still hat the 80s... But this wasn't terrible... In fact it was much better than expected...

Kind of a jam. The lyrics are concise and clever, the sound is interesting and varies throughout, and this album brightened my morning overall. Albums like these are why I'm doing this project. Hidden gems I wouldn't have found otherwise.

this was ok.

Why is this on here? Not bad but nothing memorable. And for the guy that reviewed this album and concluded that the rest of us need to be more loquacious with our reviews: get bent.

It was ok, but I found the album a bit boring

BANGER album cover. Unfortunately the album quality does not match. They manage to be an amalgamation of The Cure and Joy Division, but only the aspects of them that I don't care for. Lead singer also sounds too much like Morrissey. First track is excellent tho

Right up my alley (shoegazey post-punk)

Not listened before Favourite tracks: The Cutter, Heads Will Roll

While Mr. Echo and his Bunnymen don't really ignite the spark for me, I appreciate the experimental nature of their new wave/post punk tunes in an effort to break away from the same sounds everyone else was doing at the time.

Echo & Co. always manages to pierce my psyche while failing to penetrate my musical soul, offering moments that charm without fully enrapturing me like so many of their more memorable post-punk contemporaries.

This album was fine, gave me Bowie vibes on some, Morrissey vibes on others. Not my favorite but entertaining enough, decent production. Middle of the road 3/5

The Cure meets REM. I never listened to them before and won't again.

Interesting! Reminded me of so many different bands I haven’t bothered to write them down. Favourite tracks were The Cutter and Ripeness. Keen to check out some more of their work. (3.5 stars)

The main thing I thought while listening to this album was 'gee this singer sounds a bit like Midnight Oil' and 'man I'm really looking forward to when Midnight Oil turn up on this project'. So, I guess that's a positive?

#538. It may be mid at best, but it's certainly the best Echo and the Bunnymen album I've heard on here so far. 3/5: acceptable

I must be mellowing in my old age, this was better than I remember/expected. Not that the bar was particularly high, but even so worth a 3.

A decent album of its time. Enjoyed listening to it again but not one I’d regularly go to. A solid 3.

I don't mind a bit of Echo and the Bunny men. I grew up listening to them being played by my brother. They aren't a go to band for me, but they always brighten up my day when I listen to them. I don't think this is their finest release, but the two singles are great.

Nothing really innovative, but still well executed and catchy in the same way as some of The Cure's better stuff

Sounds like a mashup of U2 and Bauhaus, but not good.

There is some cool stuff going on, but a full album of this guy's singing is too much

I’m a fan of these guys, but wasn’t familiar with this album. There were no standout songs for me, but I enjoyed it as a whole.

Three Echo Bunnymen albums on the list so I would cut at least one. It doesn't help that I'm not much of a fan of this band's work to begin with. Generally enjoyed side B more than side A, with the exception of the opening track The Cutter.

I liked it

More new wavey than some of their other things.

Being generous with 4 stars. More like 3.5

I really don't find anything special about this. Just standard 80s alternative rock. Nothing wrong with that, but nothing that needs to be celebrated.

This was a cool album! I had fun listening to it, I've not listened to them before but I quite enjoyed this album! I have heard of the band but not really listened to them, but they were very good and this album was pure fun to listen to

I feel like 3 Bunnymen albums is kinda unnecessary. I mean I like them and all but I would've been happy with just "Ocean Rain". This album is pretty average I'd say. "The Cutter" is a great opening track but after that the album does little to get your attention. Favorite track: The Cutter

Masse gauling. Stemmen hans er typisk britisk åttitalls melodrama, og jeg blir sliten av å høre på han i lengden. The Cutter har små doser av gode melodier og interessante ideer, men albumet var ellers travelt, ensformig og banalt. Jeg visualiserer Porcupine som en tung blokk med kjip postpønk og stinkende hårspray.

First Half is great, the second half sucks

Nothing interesting.

oooooooh I'm excited for this one. I wonder if this one has Killing Moon on it. I really liked the sound of this I know they kind of paved the way to goth alternative. Not quite a 5 in my book, but a solid 4

Another one with a vibe I like, though the lyrics are neither here nor there.

A great slice of gothy post-punk, it's never truly a Masterpiece but it is pretty fun for it's entire runtime. At its best when it leans into the dreamy side of its sound.

Kind of a fun peak into gothic UK post-punk. There have certainly been artists to do the sound better and more cleanly than Echo & The Bunnymen did here, but a solid effort nonetheless. Would be a prime candidate for 3.5 stars

I’ve always had a soft spot for the Bunnymen after hearing Ocean Rain and some of their hits, but I haven’t fully dug in to their other work, so this is a fun chance. Just on the strength of the album’s 1-2 opener alone, the band is everything U2 wished it could be, and so much more. Sure, there’s a level of this that plays into Ian McCullough’s ego and persona that feuded with the success of the post-punk that got massive success; but it’s telling that U2 couldn’t match the epic sound that the Bunnymen created until Joshua Tree, and even then can’t match the sheer creative power of the instrumentation. Ocean Rain is a more polished album for sure, and more pop-friendly, but this is also masterful stuff. The arrangements, the production, the ability to throw so much into each song without it all flying off the rails - it’s an incredible mix. All of this with McCullough’s Bowie-meets-Jim Morrison’s delivery demands deeper listening. I’m gonna need a few more times to digest the heights they are pushing here. As with Ocean Rain, Porcupine is bound to be one of those records I come back to again and again.

Really struggled to find anything that worked for me on this record. The songs felt like pretty generic 80s pop, but the songs just... weren't good. Not my thing, won't be returning to this.

I found this to be a slog. Nothing really stood out and I feel like I've heard this album many times before.

Liked it, gloomy and good

Here's another band that I was never really sure what they're about. Pretty good stuff though. I kinda hated the two openers (the singles, especially "Back of Love") but the rest of these are bangers. Cool vibe. Curing, perhaps.

Intelligent and catchy, unique

2.5 rounded up

sounds like joy division with vampire energy

I've always been quick to dismiss this band. They felt as boilerplate as this early '80s new-wave/post-punk, bordering on gothic sound, could possibly be (and a worse version of 'The Cure'). While I still think that's true to some extent, I enjoyed my most recent listen to this album more than I anticipated. The last time I listened to it was some four years ago. The opening track, 'The Cutter,' caught me off guard with how catchy it was and how layered that instrumental interlude is. It was a very danceable opener. I also really liked both 'Porcupine' and 'Heads Will Roll,' which take on an almost eastern-sounding direction, the latter being the most ominous-sounding song here. Everything else was enjoyable and well performed, but it was kind of forgettable when it was all said and done. Maybe if it had been shorter, I would have enjoyed it more; it's just too polished for my liking, with nothing to show, really.

Great opening track, but got samey after while

kinda weird but pretty good

Good.

Knock-off The Cure. Nothing remarkable and I don't ger why they're on the 1001 album list.

This was a lot of fun for me. Somehow I missed this group back in the day but I like their sound (for its time).

Good but I know they have better.

I like the Bunny men- this seems a little less camp, less B52s and more a serious rock attempt than some of their other work.

Vale

Not bad, kind of a vibe - but not a vibe I'm always into.

Me ha parecido agradable, hasta disfrutable. Tiene toques psicodélicos y experimentales que siempre molan. Sí que es verdad que tiene momentos que es música muy similar a la de su época, pero pese a ello no se me ha hecho largo y hasta quizá algún día lo vuelva a oír. Canción destacada: The Cutter

Ok album. Nothing really stood out, but was pretty easy to listen to. 3/5

Miałam jakieś uparte skojarzenia z U2, sama nie wiem czemu, chyba po wokalu. Ogólnie: lepiej niż się spodziewałam po tytule i gatunku, ale nadal było to jedna z tych bardzo zapominalnych płyt. Zbyt pozbawiona tożsamości, aby ją docenić. Nie bolała, nie nudziła i nie dłużyła się, ale też nie zapisałam w ulubionych ani jednego kawałka. 6.5/10

One of the better sounds from the 80’s.

some genuinely fun songs and some iffy stuff. i didn’t LOVE the vocals overall

Before listening I thought: "Great... another Echo & theBunnymen album. What's up with that? Do we really need three(!) albums by them on this list?" Starts out well enough with "The Cutter". It kind of goes slightly downhill from there for me but overall, I'd rate this as a good album.

The porcupine is a stocky rodent with quills that pierce the skin when in contact, enabling protection from predators. The third largest rodent behind the beaver and the capybara, the porcupine occupies both Old (nocturnal, large and terrestrial) and New (smaller, less nocturnal and lives in trees) Worlds and are prone to living quite long lives. I wonder if Ian McCulloch had this in mind when coming up with the title for the third (hehe) album for Echo & the Bunnymen. Probably not and maybe that's the point. While not quite succeeding in best band in the world status, the Bunnymen do come awfully close here as the spiky, occasionally epic opus does more than earn its spikes. These are definitely songs worthy of learning and singing about. Favorites: The Cutter, Back of Love, My White Devil, Porcupine, Heads Will Roll, Ripeness, In Bluer Skies.

first listen i just can't get into this stuff

Pretty good.

I genuiely enjoyed this early 80s post-punk album by Echo and the Bunnymen, with some Eastern influences and hints of what was coming by later in the decade (shoegaze, noise pop).

Perfectly alright. Not really my cup of English post punk tea. I give it a three.

Full disclosure I am a huge fan of Echo & The Bunnymen. Seen them live about 5 times, though unfortunately only once in their heyday of the early 80s. Crocodiles, Heaven Up Here and Ocean Rain are among my favorite albums ever. With that caveat, Porcupines, is among their weaker albums in my opinion, its a bridge between their raw some might say derivitave sounding first 2 albums where there was hit after hit of their hard hitting psychedelic / punk and thier more nuanced and sophisticated soumd that flowered on Ocean Rain. There are still good songs here, and The Cutter is an important track that introduced Bunnymen to the MTV crowd, but there's a lot of filler here where the band relied too much on Ian McCulloch's vocal histrionics instead of solid songwriting. For me the strongest track is the closer In Bluer Skies, which oints the way towards Ocean Rain. So if you are new to Bunnymen and you liked this album, please check out their first and second albums to have a better understanding of their progression as a band that needs to be heard.. Side note, Will Sargeant is one of the most underrated guitarists of all time. 4 stars

Yeah it’s fine but not really notable

Weirdly enjoyed this. sounds like everyone from that era smushed together

Songs in the Key of Glum

Was a fan of the Bunnymen from their early (Zoo) days, but drifted away once they became popular. Yes, I know. So, I'd not really listened to this album before, tho The Cutter was a hit single that I recognized. Listening now... yeah. A good early 80's "Alternative" album, but falls inti the usual mope-y shoegaze-y tropes as others. Good, but not exceptional.

A pretty interesting bit of psychedelic pop. Less polished and melodramatic than it’s more popular successor, Ocean Rain, but more firmly rooted in the new wave/art pop sounds of the era.

Opens really strongly. The Cutter followed by Back of Love sets things up beautifully. Closing song Fuel is the only let down. Unique sounding, jarring guitar and jittering bass. Loved it.

Bit dull and unoriginal, nothing makes it stand out to me really. Was an alright album but nothing stellar.

3.5/5! Totally fine and what I expected, having listened to another Echo + The Bunnymen album on this journey.

Excellent.

Whatever 80's pop rock.

I kind of enjoy this. Their voices and their vibe is very familiar, but I am not sure who it is that they remind me of...

Solid. 3.8/5

I like their sound a lot, very moody and atmospheric.

I just don’t like post-punk. I feel like these guys are probably a decent band, just stuck in a dreary genre.

Interesting. Like early u2 with more street cred and fewer bangers.

huonompi heh

3.5

Definitely a step up from Crocodiles, though still not as good as Ocean Rain, in my opinion. McCulloch falls back on *a lot* of stock new wave/post-punk melodies, especially in the back half of the record, but I think he’s a decent vocalist, especially when the melodies are a bit more inventive. Highlights for me are “The Cutter”, “The Back of Love”, “Clay”, the title track, and “Heads Will Roll”. 3.5/5

Back from a six month hiatus. At this rate, I will be finishing this on my deathbed. This album is kinda frontloaded, but it stops just short of getting boring. Most lyrics are really good, and the songs are dynamic and exotic. Even though this is not a particularly catchy record, it's what I imagine Prefab Sprout's Steve McQueen wanted (and ultimately failed) to achieve.

I liked this more than I expected. I've always been turned off by the dumb name and the fact that my brother made fun of my sisters for being fans of them in the 80s. Digging into their catalog now. From their bio I expect there will be one or 2 albums I love and the rest I could do without, but it's worth looking at. Having spent some more time with this band, I'm leaving the album at a 4, though maybe it's a 3.5, but I didn't find better albums in their catalog. Their sound hints at something I would really like, but there's a little too much pop and polish in it to be interesting to me in that category.

Before listening: I’m excited for this one, a band I’ve heard about many times, but one I’ve never really listened to. Hopefully they live up to the hype. After listening:

Thought Echo and the Bunnymen was a Euro synth/pop band. I was very mistaken. Good album, wasn't expecting it to be a Cure/Bauhaus type band. I'd give it an enthusiastic 3 stars. Won't be the first thing I go to put on, but I'll be back to listen to more for sure.

I didn't get to listen to all of this, but what I was able to listen was solid!

Great album. Wish I had known more about these guys in the '80s. Perhaps a little too much "Heaven and Hell" as a recurring lyrical motif, but great texture overall.

Felt like a more upbeat version of The Cure with hints of U2 at times. I’m surprised these guys weren’t more commercially successful back then.

Ok

This is the third album by Echo the Bunnymen I have had the dubious pleasure of reviewing. I find their albums remarkably undifferentiated, hardly warranting the inclusion of three entries on the list. So too then will be my remarks, which are only marginally differentiated from the other albums: Oof, are Echo and the Bunnymen possibly the most overrated band of all time? Certainly, if you listen to how they describe themselves ('the greatest album of all time!"), and they could never possibly live up to their own hype. Obviously, 1001 albums love them, as there are three (THREE!) of their albums on this list.. The lyrics are not nearly as clever as Ian McCullough thinks they are, which makes them The Doors of the 1980s. And they have dated about as well (i.e., they have a shrinking fanbase that are convinced that they are all that and a bag of chips, but the rest of the world shrugs). That said, The Cutter is a real cracker of a song, distinctive, spooky, atmospheric (if not slightly nonsensical), and side one of the original vinyl is generally pretty damn good. But not as good as Ian McCulloch thinks it is. Most valuable player award goes to Shankar for his excellent string arrangements, which lift every track where they appear.

Another one of those albums where I had heard song from it at some point just never knew who or additional songs by the artist. Very much a talking heads type band. Enjoyed the album.

This feels like an important album somehow. There’s a certain cool-eighties-ness to it - like being transported into a John Hughes film. II can imagine, if you were a teenager at the time, how seminal this would be. As for me, who was a teenager a bit later, I liked it! Will revisit.

Solid. But too similar throughout

3/5. I think too many bands got influence from the Smiths, which were already a lot most of the time. At first, I thought the first few songs were going to be the highlight but it got better as the album went on with some great music coming from Shankar who is on all of the strings. Still not grown fully on me but much better by the end than I was expecting. And it does stand on its own from The Smiths. For one, the music is a highlight. Not all songs were great but most were good. Best Song: The Back Of Love, Heads Will Roll, The Cutter

Uninteresting. Not caught me at all. Least favourite yet.

Plenty of musical talent on display. Not my cup of tea, but worth four stars nonetheless.

not their best work

Wonderful album. Early Echo & The Bunnymen really deliver the post-punk energy. Nervy, a bit dark, but full of life. My only issue with this one is that the songs lack variety.

If someone would tomorrow ask me something about this album... I would be rather troubled. I listened it without any memory created.

This is type of music (post-punk, new wave...) does not hit me at all. Sounds are metallic and dull. Singing is just whining once again. No points.

Okay. I was actually waiting to hear this one, I've been hearing so much about them as long as I can remember, but never checked them out. Clearly I can't stand this new wave post-punk shit, it's getting on my nerves and the fucking wailing in annoying as all hell.

ganz gut aber nothing special

Boring

Loving all the new wave/post punk recently.

I was scrolling through the reviews to this on here and saw someone saw this album was inoffensive, which I think is the perfect word to describe it. It's decent, but sounds like every other 80s British New Wave/Post Punk band that are littered in abundance in this list. Only real standout quality was that I liked the bass in some songs. Everything else was just forgetful