What Are You Going To Do With Your Life?

It's a fair question, and one that is equally fair to ask of the band: What have they done with their lives? If this album is any indication, they have grown up. While it is great to hear Ian McCulloch's voice again, don't expect the cracked squeal and bark that helped to establish the band as a bastion of early alternative music. Here, his voice is tamed, deep, steady, and a little weary. Fans of older Echo albums will hear this and think of a reunion with an old friend who, once excitable and angry, has become worldly and reflective. The tracks are unhurried and swirling, like a strong river current. Ringing rhythm guitar replaces naked post-punk melody. String and horn accompaniments are so mellow that removed from the context of these songs they are nothing short of Muzak. This is still the Echo and the Bunnymen you know and love, but the album rallies against the one thing you shouldn't do with your life: live in the past. --Beth Massa