“The Back Of Love” / “The Subject (Korova KOW 24) May 1982
Echo And The Bunnymen | The Back Of Love | (Korova) 1982 | I don’t know whether it was because I was younger at the time, but Echo And The Bunnymen used to hold a special place in my heart. Ah! But I’m older, more cynical and perhaps a bit less caring now, so it doesn’t worry me if I dismiss Echo in a paragraph or two.
‘The Back Of Love’ (what kind of title is that?) slots almost too neatly in with the New Order offering, in that it is a dirge. Both 45s possess a halfway good tune, but the tune is smothered by an awful New Rock thrash.
You must know what I mean, it’s all becoming so cliched. The rolling drums, the scything guitar, the moaned vocals. The complete tepidity of it all, it makes you want to yawn.
The future of rock and roll (British section), I presume? Like the idea or loathe it, its not far from the truth, so its encouraging that the lapine ones are despatching us such high-quality goods from their northern lair.
More commercial and taken at a far more spirited pace than one has come to expect from these gents, ‘The Back Of Love’ boasts a hummable refrain and strings (gulp) as well as an intriguing lyric, delivered with such self-righteous passion by young Mr McCulloch.
It doesn’t quite live up to its punch start, getting a bit jumbly towards the end, but overall there’s a strength to it that makes much of the competition sound downright flimsy. (Record Mirror, 15/05/82)
Liverpool’s lushest discard the musky air of mystery, throw caution to the winds and stray near something like a tune. Sadly this sounds like one hell of a mess to me as the Bunnymen strike a bright attitude with a clumsy playfulness that’s distinctly unseductive.
Muddy brass lies buried somewhere beneath a general untidy jumble while Mac reels around some variations on his theme of awestruck inarticulacy. (NME, 15/05/82)
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