As a new wave kid in the ’80s, I probably wore holes in the first three Echo & the Bunnymen albums, drove up to NYC to see them, etc. I recently downloaded the first two albums off iTunes—and I gotta say they still hold up.

I always thought they were the heaviest of the “romantic” bands. Way heavier and more angular than The Cure, U2, etc. That drummer’s military fills are the serious backbone of why I loved these guys. And they had a lot of songs about taking LSD, which at the time made them seem mysteriously cool.

The Burt Bacharach sweater in the video not withstanding, they did know how to rock under those haircuts.