DeViCom CD-Review: Echo & the Bunnymen - What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?

In 1997 Echo & the Bunnymen made an excellent return with the longplayer Evergreen. But its remarkable fault was that it was hardly hip and the band couldn't leave any magnificant aftertaste in the listener's ears although it was a fine and calming record. All in all it did not presents Echo's sound rather today's mainstream sound.
With What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? Echo prouve that they are still able to set a sound up-to-date without breaking off of their traditions. Bittersweet pop/rock songs with all their former roots - yes, they have matured without getting stodgy, they have deepened their signature sound without appearing self-conscious. Indeed, this record seems to be a bit like all their former productions. But it is okay since the songs and their lyrics are as true as the duo Ian McCulloch and Will Seargant has always been before: they produce a wonderful album that tells bittersweet stories about love, broken relationships and the passed by youth. Clocking in at just 38 minutes, the record is concise and dense with detail, finding the precise tone between the floating grandeur of early Echo and the timeless romanticism of classic torch songs. It is melancholy without ever being self-pitying and it never once sounds gloomy or depressing. The key is that the band never pushes to hard and so it is always somewhere in between and keeps the balance between a melancholic and bittersweet and light sound. As so oft many bands from Echo's age and direction make the fault to push everything too hard. That is the kind of record that post punk bands in the age of Echo & the Bunnymen should do as well - at their anniversary they speak to their aging fans and tell them where they are now. Just wonderful.