It has often been recounted that Echo And The Bunnymen lost out in the fight of post-punk supremacy against U2. In truth neither of the bands made a great start but when 'Crocodiles' emerged in 1980 it delivered with its bleak, psychedelic approach. On an album which was mired in moodiness rather than the later years of grand emotion, 'Going Up' and 'Stars And Stars' present an inauspicious, doomy start. Only when 'Pride' kicks in do things start to pick up and its spiky energy is matched by 'Monkeys'; an early indication of the virtuoso guitar skills of one Will Sergeant. 'Rescue's' chiming guitar motif meant it was the obvious choice of a single and 'Villiers Terrace' possesses an impressive edgy punch yet the end to the album is a little too glum-by-numbers, exemplified by the ambitious but heavy-handed 'Happy Death Men'. A decent start but hardly the classic some would have you believe.