Different and Cool!
MoogleFan | 09/09/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Electrafixion was formed by Echo & the Bunnymen members Ian McCulloch (vocals) and Will Sargeant (guitar) in 1994, and released this album originally in 1995. Suprisingly, it doesn't come across as being better or worse than Echo & the Bunnymen, or even as merely a 'side-project' band. Electrafixion's music goes in a harder, more psychedelic-rock-oriented direction than Echo & the Bunnymen ever went. The album pulls in the listener right from the start, with Sargeant's driving guitar and McCulloch's earnest, determined vocals carrying the whole album through to the end. The songs that were chosen as singles are the brightest highlights of the album ("Zephyr", "Lowdown", "Never", and "Sister Pain"), though the opener "Feel My Pulse" and the Bunnymen-esque "Too Far Gone" are two of my other favorites.
Echo & the Bunnymen fans shouldn't miss out on this album, especially now that the re-issue includes so much more; the tracks from Electrafixion's 1994 EP are tacked onto the first disc (different-length versions of "Zephyr", "Burned", and "Mirrorball", plus "Rain On Me" and a remix of "Never"), with the second disc containing B-sides from their singles and nine live songs from a concert on October 22nd, 1995 at Shepherds Bush Empire. Plus, this album makes for much more accessible listening than much of the Bunnymen's material, so newer fans might want to check this out as well. (See also the combined re-issue of Ian McCulloch's Mysterio/Candleland; that one's not to be missed, either!)"