By 1981, Echo And The Bunnymen had become firmly entrenched in the glum rock scene. 'Heaven Up Here' stands up respectably against The Comsat Angels 'Sleep No More' and The Sound's 'From The Lion's Mouth'. Like those albums its overriding feeling of misery could have ruined any aspirations for commercial viability but Ian McCulloch decided that glory would come later. McCulloch's confidence could be heard in his voice which was now proving to be the perfect foil for Will Sergeant's varied guitar work. It boasted only one obvious single in 'A Promise' (on which Les Pattinson provides the all-important bassline), yet most of the other tracks hinted of a world about to collapse; 'Over The Wall', 'All My Colours' and 'The Disease' are all bereft of positive thoughts yet stand out amongst the crowd thanks to McCulloch's defiant howls and Sergeant's sense of the apocalyptic. The two of them even get away with a bit of funk on 'It Was A Pleasure' but the discordant title track hasn't dated quite so well. This is probably the last record to dip into for beginners but the ability to match bleakness to compelling music should make it a draw for the majority of most post-punk fans.