Electrafixion
reunites former
Echo & The Bunnymen
members
Ian McCulloch
and
Will Sergeant
, so it isn't surprising that the gloomy, dense soundscapes of their debut,
Burned
, recalls their former group. Even if the staples of the group's sound are in place,
isn't an exercise in nostalgia.
Sergeant
adds layers of tough, gnarled guitars to
McCulloch
's dense brooding, which has progressed lyrically and melodically since
The Bunnymen
's first records. Nevertheless, the monolithic drone of
's early albums were what made the group vibrant and distinctive in the early '80s. While the duo has matured with
, they have sacrificed some excitement in the process, even if
occasionally seethes with noise and distortion. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine