Echo and the Bunnymen “The Back of Love” 1982. Korova Records. 12″ single b/w “The Subject” and “Fuel.” I realized that I neglected to blog about the excellent Echo and the Bunnymen show we saw a couple of weeks ago at Turner Hall so am retroactively discussing it now while spinning this single from their 1983 album Porcupine. (Allmusic says about “The Back of Love” “The track has a relentless, loping rhythm that immediately gets the hooks in, right from the chiming guitar, arpeggio bass line and polyrhythmic pounding tom tom canter, the stage is set for singer Ian McCulloch emphatic croon. McCulloch seems truly perturbed as he gets some great lines off his chest, ‘I’m on the chopping block / Chopping off my stopping thought / Self doubt and self-ism were the cheapest things I’ve ever bought’. The music builds brilliantly to a rising chorus, twisting the tension as McCulloch voice slyly switches from moaning plea to outright indignation within the few short lines, ‘When you say that’s love / Do you mean the back of love?’ and ‘We’re taking advantage of / Breaking the back of love!’ For such a busy track, the arrangement is a wonder of musical economy. Somehow, in the songs short three minute running time, the arrangement finds time for a few brief, psychedelic inspired breaks, with McCulloch dispensing watery stuttering beneath simulated synth strings and staccato drums, all without loosing precious momentum. ”Back of Love” is a sound bit of early ‘80’s Brit-pop indeed, capturing the ambitious nature of the period at it’s best.”)

The show was much the same: musical tensions swirling in psychedelic sounds with Ian McCulloch’s voice sounding as strong as it did in the 80′s (including his brief and mostly unintelligible thick brogue banter with the audience). I was a bit apprehensive prior to the show; a friend of mine saw them in DC earlier this year and said their performance was rather poor, the band disengaged and kinda phoning it in. Either they got into their touring groove or just really liked Milwaukee because they genuinely seemed happy to be there. And while no dizzyingly displays of dancing acrobatics or crazy showmanship transpired (that really would have been weird), the sound was tight and McCulloch even cracked a few smiles, especially when he messed up a lyric and whispered-sang “I really fucked that up,” which charmed the crowd completely.