Sprung from the same neo-psychedelic scene as their most obvious influence, Echo & the Bunnymen, the Mighty Lemon Drops traded in the same moody jangle-pop, but emphasizing hooks more and more as the Bunnymen sank further and further into Ian McCulloch’s Jim Morrison fetish. The Drops’ debut, Happy Head, is the band at their Bunny-est, as the single, “My Biggest Thrill” (download), sounds like a Heaven Up Here outtake. Interestingly, it was enough to get the band signed to Sire Records in the States, the same label as — you guessed it — Echo and the etcetera etceteras.

The Lemon Drops expanded further into their own distinct little corner of psychedelia with a stopgap EP named for their next college rock hit, “Out Of Hand” (download). While the alternating chiming and fuzzed out guitars still had the stink of Bunnymen axeman Will Sergeant all over them, the beats and slightly more bubblegum melodies started to form a unique Lemon Drops sound. Having a terrifically trippy video helmed by Derek Jarman didn’t hurt, either: (more…)