Apples For Isaac

Apples for Isaac is Echo & The Bunnymen's first album of new songs since 2014's Meteorites. The Liverpool band waited 12 years to make it, the longest gap of their career, and it's been worth it. The 11 songs are short and punchy, and none runs past four minutes. You get the big, singalong lead single "Brussels Is Haunted," the bright and catchy "The Honey" and the horn-driven "Lab Rats Ran." Ian McCulloch produced the album and plays most of it himself. Will Sergeant's guitar shimmers throughout, and the record has the drama and wit of the band's classic early work.

The album is also a goodbye to a friend. The late Clem Burke of Blondie plays drums on 10 of the 11 tracks. He passed away while the album was being made, and the band dedicated it to him. Critics have called it a late-career triumph and a miraculous return, and it's the band's most successful album since Evergreen. Whether you've loved Echo & The Bunnymen since "The Killing Moon" or you're just discovering them, Apples for Isaac belongs in any post-punk or alternative rock collection.

Apples for Isaac is Echo & The Bunnymen's first album of new songs since 2014's Meteorites. The Liverpool band waited 12 years to make it, the longest gap of their career, and it's been worth it. The 11 songs are short and punchy, and none runs past four minutes. You get the big, singalong lead single "Brussels Is Haunted," the bright and catchy "The Honey" and the horn-driven "Lab Rats Ran." Ian McCulloch produced the album and plays most of it himself. Will Sergeant's guitar shimmers throughout, and the record has the drama and wit of the band's classic early work.

The album is also a goodbye to a friend. The late Clem Burke of Blondie plays drums on 10 of the 11 tracks. He passed away while the album was being made, and the band dedicated it to him. Critics have called it a late-career triumph and a miraculous return, and it's the band's most successful album since Evergreen. Whether you've loved Echo & The Bunnymen since "The Killing Moon" or you're just discovering them, Apples for Isaac belongs in any post-punk or alternative rock collection.