Search - Ian Mcculloch :: Slideling

Good solo work

alexander laurence | Los Angeles, CA | 04/21/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ian McCulloch is the lead singer of Echo and The Bunnymen. They are one of the more successful groups in recent memory. His solo work hasn't received as much attention. This time he worked without Will Sergeant. About this record McCulloch says: "Heroes can be hard to find, but whoever we decide to put on a pedestal, we'll find the pedestal has three legs and one of them is a bit wobbly." McCulloch seems a lot more confident on this record. Songs about love and childhood dominate. In the song "Playgrounds and City Parks' McCulloch sings: "We played around til it went dark/in every breath another spark was dying/at bus stops we stood in line/like full stops at the end of time/where teardrops don't ever dry fro crying..." It's also a surprise that Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland of Coldplay contribute backing vocals and guitar on numerous songs. Echo and The Bunnymen in turn has been a massive influence on Coldplay all these years. McCulloch also wears his influences on his sleeve: Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed, and Smokey Robinson. All of the songs are extremely melodic and dreamy. McCulloch has turned to the Liverpool streets for inspiration. There is some vague mysticism that he captured so well with The Bunnymen. Here he creates a palate to build on in the future. (www.freewilliamsburg.com)"

Addicting? You bet

Richard Wittmann | Charlotte, NC | 05/17/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Im addicted to this disc. Im a veterinarian, and everyday that Im in surgery, I put this baby in and sing along. Kansas has to be the best song on the disc. I find myself waking up singing this song. You can't go wrong with it. If you're a Bunnymen fan, you'll love it."

Solo album #3! good to have Ian back

J. Holmes | yokohama, japan | 10/22/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"i almost flipped out when i saw this new solo cd from Ian McCulloch! i fell deeply deeply in love with his Candleland album years ago. his smooth and smokey voice is amazing; and the album's beautiful and haunting pop melodies spoke to me in a dear way. his follow up record, Mysterio, saw him going in a more racious rocking approach, but it was also a good record. now with Slideling (horrible title, by the way), he seems to have come to find a good balance between both styles. the album opens with the frolicking romp of "Love In Veins" which has a bit of a Coldplay feel to it, but with a thicker, more beefy feel. the other standout tunes on here are the lovely title track, the sweet and tender "Playgrounds And City Parks", and the Velvet Underground throwback of "Baby Hold On." unfortunatly, the rest of the album gets lost in a bland generic singer songwriter fog...which is a shame because i like Ian. i'm glad there are a handful of really good songs on here; because despite the overall boring album, the bright spots on the map make it worth the trip. (on one more negative note-this cd has some outlandishly bad graphic design and layout...yuck! his last two solo cd's had a great simple feel...but this one is overdone and just plain ugly!)"