Song of the Day: Ian McCulloch “The Flickering Wall”

Echo & The Bunnymen singer, Ian McCulloch, came across all indie pop with the lead-off track from his 1989 solo debut. “The Flickering Wall” opened Candeland with a bang, offering up a combination of glistening acoustic guitars and a synth-flute melodic line. McCulloch absolutely nails his vocals here as well, managing that combination of bravado and vulnerability that had been his hallmark in leading Echo.

McCulloch had really grown as a singer over the decade or so prior, learning to dial back his innate urge towards vamping it up and aiming for something a little more subtle. His song-craft had also grown tighter, lacking the tendency towards lengthy psychedelic passages that his previous songwriting partner in Echo, Will Sergeant, had brought. “The Flickering Wall” then, for good or for ill, is pure McCulloch: filled to the brim with the singer’s passions and obsessions. Obsessed with visions of sin and redemption, the song lyrics feel deeply personal despite the upbeat, populist direction that the music takes. An impressive feat from a unique artistic voice who managed to fly on his own as well as with his more storied band. McCulloch is, at the end of the day, a talented and vivid poet. This really comes through in his solo work.

In my world in my little world
Life lies upon the floor
The wind blows in and out again
Through windows and through doors
And it’s there I’ll look and it’s there I’ll find
What it was I started after
When I mistook what I had in mind
For something made to matter

I heard the footsteps in the street
I saw the lights on the flickering wall
I moved my lips but I couldn’t speak
Choked on the wonder of it all
Choked on the wonder of it all

In my dreams recurring dreams
But I was never there
Life is still so invisible
Just needing to be where
With any luck I might just find
What it was I started after
When I undertook what I had in mind

When everything mattered

When I saw the gods up in the sky
I saw the lights on the flickering wall
I saw the world through hazel eyes
And choked on the wonder of it all
Choked on the wonder of it all

I heard the footsteps in the street
I saw the lights on the flickering wall
I moved my lips but I couldn’t speak
Choked on the wonder of it all

When I saw the gods up in the sky
I saw the lights on the flickering wall
I saw the world through hazel eyes
And choked on the wonder of it all
Choked on the wonder of it all
Choked on the wonder
Choked on the wonder
Choked on the wonder of it all