Echo and the Bunnymen

Echo and the Bunnymen's Ian McCulloch used to rhapsodize about his desire to be the new Frank Sinatra. And although Harry Connick Jr. beat him to it, McCulloch and crew wound up making an impact all their own. While much of the '80s post-punk wave toyed with goofy futurism and chilly synths, Echo fused psychedelic jangle and vintage organs with moody croons. Masterpieces like Porcupine and Ocean Rainstill sounded bleak, but they shimmered with an aura as lush as McCulloch's trademark mop and pout. The group's eponymous 1987 record was its apex, yielding such gems as "Lips Like Sugar" and "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo." Its history since then reads like pure rock myth: disbandment, the death of a member, solo albums, and even a pseudo-reunion under the name Electrafixion in 1995. McCulloch and guitarist Will Sergeant revived Echo in earnest in 1997 and began releasing a string of blandly decent discs, the most recent being 2005's Siberia. It's no Sinatra, but as Echo runs through its repertoire of classics, there won't be any denying that McCulloch still has the Voice.