With McCulloch influenced by American alternative rock bands such as Nirvana and The Smashing Pumpkins, the group employed a heavier sound than Echo & the Bunnymen's previous work. After successfully touring the United Kingdom and refusing to play any Echo & the Bunnymen material, Electrafixion released their only album, "Burned", in September 1995. Despite critics giving the album good reviews, sales of it and the follow-up singles were disappointing. After embarking on a tour of the United States in 1996, Electrafixion eventually gave in to fan pressure and began to introduce Echo & the Bunnymen material to their live set. Sergeant felt that as the band were playing Echo & the Bunnymen songs, they might as well reform Echo & the Bunnymen; however, McCulloch was initially opposed to the idea. McCulloch changed his mind and, having persuaded Pattinson to come out of retirement, Echo & the Bunnymen was reformed in mid-1996. McCulloch felt Echo & the Bunnymen could not reform without Pattinson and described the bassist's involvement as "integral". McCulloch went on to say it was important to "feel like the original group". He has also said, "Right from the first demo "Evergreen" we realised that we'd still got that chemistry."