Echo and the Bunnymen singer Ian McCulloch will release Slideling, his third solo effort, on May 6th. The album was recorded with Cenzo Townsend (who produced the Bunnymen's Evergreen) at Doghouse Studios in Henley-on-Thames, England. Coldplay singer/keyboardist Chris Martin and guitarist Johnny Buckland play on two tracks, "Arthur" and "Sliding."

"I'm much more confident now than I was when I last did any solo stuff," McCulloch said. "It's the first record I've made solo-wise where I'm happy with the reasons why I'm doing it and with the way it turned out."

Although Slideling is his first solo recording since Mysterio eleven years ago, McCulloch has been busying himself with the Bunnymen since they reunited in 1997 after a nine-year break. The group -- in a slightly altered form that still includes McCulloch and guitarist Will Seargent -- released Evergreen in 1997, What Are You Going to Do With Your Life? in 1999, Flowers in 2001 and a live album a year later.

According to McCulloch, he plans to continue working with Seargent, and Slideling does not mark a second end for the Bunnymen.

The track listing for Slideling:

Love in Veins
Playgrounds and City Parks
Sliding
Baby Hold On
Arthur
Seasons
Baby's on Another Train
Some Kinda Love
She Sings (All My Life)
Kansas
Stake Your Claim

ANDREW DANSBY
(February 13, 2003)