Channeling the lessons of the experimental
Porcupine into more conventional and simple structural parameters,
Ocean Rain emerges as
Echo & the Bunnymen's most beautiful and memorable effort. Ornamenting
Ian McCulloch's most consistently strong collection of songs to date with subdued guitar textures, sweeping string arrangements, and hauntingly evocative production, the album is dramatic and majestic; "The Killing Moon,"
Ocean Rain's emotional centerpiece, remains the group's unrivalled pinnacle. ~ Jason Ankeny