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Flowers is a studio album released by the British band Echo & the Bunnymen on 16 February 2001. It reached number 56 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was recorded at the Elevator Studios in Liverpool and the Bryn Derwyn Studios in Wales and produced by Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant, with additional production by Pete Coleman. Flowers included the singles "It's Alright" and "Make Me Shine".

Background
The time following the release of their previous album, What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? (1999), was one of change for Echo & the Bunnymen. In order to be kept on, the band's label told them they would need to take less money. However, vocalist Ian McCulloch said that they did not intend to stay and Echo & the Bunnymen and London Records parted company. Paul Toogood, the band's manager, departed to start his own record label; Pete Byrne and former road manager Peasey replaced him. McCulloch and guitarist Will Sergeant recruited a new backing band—Alex Gleave (bass), Ceri James (keyboards) and Vincent Jamieson (drums)—to replace the session musicians who were used to record What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? This line-up went on to record the Avalanche EP in late 2000. Released on the Gimmiemusic label, the EP was only available to buy through the Internet. As well as working on new Echo & the Bunnymen material; McCulloch worked on solo projects, recording two tracks for the soundtrack to the 2000 British film There's Only One Jimmy Grimble; and Sergeant worked with his Glide side-project, releasing a live album.

Recording
By the end of 2000, Echo & the Bunnymen had signed with Cooking Vinyl. Enthusiastic about being on an independent record label, McCulloch said, "Not being on a major [label] is the best thing we've ever done." He went on to say, "It's good to be somewhere where people care about the music first, and all the other bits later." Sergeant was equally enthusiastic about recording a new album, saying, "Mac and I have a plan to make the new record very interesting indeed; as I type, wheels are being set in motion, sounds are starting to form in our skulls, and chemical reactions fizz and pop. Yes, that old black magic has got us in its spell."

It was rumoured that McCulloch and Sergeant wrote the album in less than ten hours. The album was also recorded quickly with the band entering Elevator Studios, Liverpool and The Dairy Studios, London in January 2001. In less than a month the album was recorded and mixed. Describing the process, McCulloch said, "We kind of half-discussed it before we started writing: next time we go in the studio, let's not waste time. Let's enjoy it, you know?" He added, "It is the quickest album we've ever written, and one of the quickest to record. I think that shows. I think we just decided 'let's get on with it, not think of orchestras or too many guitar parts. Let's just do it the way we did Crocodiles.'"

Composition and cover
"Love of Jim Morrison, Arabic scales, and quasi-religious imagery"

Release and reception
After recording Flowers, Echo & the Bunnymen performed a one-off concert at the University of London on 14 March 2001 at which some of the tracks from the album were previewed. In a review of the concert, Uncut described the new tracks from the album as being able to "hold their own amid Bunnymen heavyweights". It was originally planned for "Make Me Shine" to be the lead single from the album, however, this was changed and "It's Alright" was released on 23 April. The album itself was then released on 14 May before "Make Me Shine" was eventually released on 27 August. The band played six shows to coincide with the release of the album.

Mark Beaumont awarded the album a score of seven out of ten while reviewing it for NME in 2001. In his review Beaumont said, "[...] the likes of 'An Eternity Turns', 'Hide & Seek' and the title track can still shake themselves out of their rose-tinted indie lethargy come the chorus and punch holes in the ceiling. It's hardly 'The Cutter', but it can just about handle the mustard." Paul Cooper for the music website Pitchfork said, "'Make Me Shine' and 'It's Alright' [...] are classic Bunnymen." He went on to say that the album was not the best place for people new to the band to being, "But for us old-timers [...] Flowers stands as a gorgeous bouquet of memories."

and reached number forty-one on the UK Singles Chart.

Track listing
All tracks written by Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant.


 * 1) "King of Kings" – 4:24
 * 2) "SuperMellowMan" – 4:58
 * 3) "Hide and Seek" – 4:07
 * 4) "Make Me Shine" – 3:54
 * 5) "It's Alright" – 3:32
 * 6) "Buried Alive" – 3:55
 * 7) "Flowers" – 4:16
 * 8) "Everybody Knows" – 4:40
 * 9) "Life Goes On" – 3:59
 * 10) "An Eternity Turns" – 4:03
 * 11) "Burn for Me" – 3:41

Personnel

 * Ian McCulloch – vocals, guitar, producer
 * Will Sergeant – lead guitar, tambourine, producer
 * Alex Germains – bass, backing vocals
 * Ceri James – keyboards
 * Vincent Jamieson – drums, congas, tambourine, shakers
 * Pete Coleman – additional production, engineer, mixing
 * Mike Hunter – additional engineering
 * Timothy Speed – mixing assistant
 * Stu Reed – mixing assistant, Pro-Tools
 * Fabio – mixing assistant
 * John Withnail – mixing assistant
 * David Blackman – mastering
 * Andrew Swainson – design, photography