Having wrapped up their second consecutive summer tour with Violent Femmes, Echo & The Bunnymen today announced a fall North American headlining tour in support of The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon, the band’s forthcoming album of orchestral reworkings.
The Bunnymen also premiered the first track off the new album: the band’s re-recording of 1984 single “Seven Seas,” which you can hear below.
Due out Oct. 5, the new album is being billed as a collection of “some of their greatest songs” re-recorded “with strings and things attached.” It will feature new re-recordings of 13 Bunnymen classics, plus two new songs (“The Sonambulist” and “How Far?”).
In a press release, Bunnymen frontman Ian McCulloch said of the new versions: “I’m not doing this for anyone else. I’m doing it as it’s important to me to make the songs better. I have to do it.”
The band will follow the album’s release with a 13-date North American headlining tour that opens Nov. 17 in Toronto and wraps up Dec. 4 in Los Angeles. All tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Friday local time.
See full dates below, plus stream the new version of “Seven Seas.”
Echo & The Bunnymen North American tour dates:
Nov. 17: Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto, ON
Nov. 19: Calvin Theatre & Performing Arts Center, Northampton, MA
Nov. 20: Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA
Nov. 21: Town Hall Theatre, New York, NY
Nov. 23: The Fillmore Detroit, Detroit, MI
Nov. 24: Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL
Nov. 26: Paramount Theatre, Denver, CO
Nov. 27: Union Event Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Nov. 29: Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA
Nov. 30: Revolution Hall, Portland, OR
Dec. 1: McDonald Theatre, Eugene, OR
Dec. 3: The Masonic, San Francisco, CA
Dec. 4: The Cathedral Sanctuary at Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Los Angeles, CA
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- Echo & The Bunnymen, Violent Femmes team up for 2nd U.S. summer co-headlining tour
- Echo & The Bunnymen delay release — but reveal tracklist — of new orchestral album
- Echo & The Bunnymen re-record old songs ‘with strings and things attached’ for new LP
- Echo & The Bunnymen, The Jesus and Mary Chain team up for UK gig with Peter Hook
- Watch: Violent Femmes make ‘American Music’ with BBQ grill in KEXP live set
Hmmmm. Many of the great Echo songs already had “strings and things” attached (e.g. Seven Seas). So I guess slowing the song down was one option, but not really an improvement IMO – but how do you “improve” on the genius of those early records?
You don’t. Hopefully this is still creative and worth the purchase. I love Echo their legacy is intact.
They took an excellent song and made it boring. I just saw them play an very uninspired, blah show in DC. I’ll check out the re-worked versions, but of this is the first sample they shared – yeesh.
You absolutely cannot make these songs better, but you can certainly make them worse.
That did not improve the song…
Meh! What happened to the promise of EPs? Sounded like a better proposition than this drek.
The Bunnymen have mellowed a bit live, but “Meteorites” was a redemption album and they have my full attention going forward.