FEATURE:
A Buyer’s Guide
PHOTO CREDIT: Costello/Redferns/Getty Images
Part Forty-One: Siouxsie and the Banshees
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THIS is another feature that is quite timely…
PHOTO CREDIT: Pennie Smith
as Siouxsie and the Banshees formed in 1976 – that means the band are forty-five this year. It is a pleasure to feature this hugely important band in A Buyer’s Guide. Formed by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin, the band were initially associated with the Punk scene; they quickly progressed and changed to create something Post-Punk and more experimental. Their debut album, The Scream, was released in 1978 to widespread critical acclaim. During their career, Siouxsie and the Banshees released eleven studio albums and thirty singles. The band experienced several line-up changes, with Siouxsie and Severin being the only constant members. They disbanded in 1996. To honour a vastly interesting and always-inspiring band, this A Buyer’s Guide is dedicated to…
THEIR very best work.
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The Four Essential Albums
The Scream
Release Date: 13th November, 1978
Label: Polydor
Producers: Siouxsie and the Banshees/Steve Lillywhite
Standout Tracks: Pure/Helter Skelter/Metal Postcard (Mittageisen)
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=42280&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/3uMr78kOScjc6eLHMYcVl4?si=bD7cUQMCSHyDTsiFbY80ew
Review:
“After building up an intense live reputation and a rabid fan base, Siouxsie and the Banshees almost had to debut with a stunner -- which they did, "Hong Kong Garden" taking care of things on the singles front and The Scream on the full-length. Matched with a downright creepy cover and a fair enough early producing effort from Steve Lillywhite -- well before he found gated drum sounds -- it's a fine balance of the early band's talents. Siouxsie Sioux herself shows the distinct, commanding voice and lyrical meditations on fractured lives and situations that would win her well-deserved attention over the years. Compared to the unfocused general subject matter of most of the band's peers, songs like "Jigsaw Feeling," "Suburban Relapse," and especially the barbed contempt of "Mirage" are perfect miniature portraits. John McKay's metallic (but not metal) guitar parts, riffs that never quite resolve into conventional melodies, and the throbbing Steven Severin/Kenny Morris rhythm section distill the Velvet Underground's early propulsion into a crisper punch with more than a hint of glam's tribal rumble. The sheer variety on the album alone is impressive -- "Overground" and its slow-rising build, carefully emphasizing space in between McKay's notes as much as the notes themselves, the death-march Teutonic stomp of "Metal Postcard," the sudden near-sunniness of the music (down to the handclaps!) toward the end of "Carcass." The cover of "Helter Skelter" makes for an unexpected nod to the past -- if it's not as completely overdriven as the original, Siouxsie puts her own definite stamp on it and its sudden conclusion is a great moment of drama. It's the concluding "Switch" that fully demonstrates just how solid the band was then, with McKay's saxophone adding just enough of a droning wild card to the multi-part theatricality of the piece, Siouxsie in particularly fine voice on top of it all” – AllMusic
Choice Cut: Hong Kong Garden
Kaleidoscope
Release Date: 1st August, 1980
Labels: Polydor/PVC (original U.S. release)/Geffen (1984 U.S. reissue)
Producers: Nigel Gray/Siouxsie and the Banshees
Standout Tracks: Tenant/Christine/Red Light
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=42315&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/5jynqY8ZyDoeqrIfYSwF8P?si=cQjx9ftTTWqVX7G1DuGEGA
Review:
“A member of the 'Bromley' contingent, responsible for the birth of London's early punk explosion, Siouxsie Sioux was foremost a scenester, but by 1979 she was older and wiser in many ways. Her band, The Banshees, had fought tooth and nail for their recording contract, following John Peel's championing; then following two corruscating yet somewhat disappointing albums both the guitarist and drummer jumped ship. Talk about a cloud with a silver lining...
The silver came in the form of who was drafted in to replace Kenny Morris and John McKay. Firstly Siouxsie brought in the man who was to prove her life's work partner; Budgie. Fresh from transforming the Slits from - surprise, surprise - punk scenesters to post punk icons, this multi-talented drummer then proceeded to add a layer of sophistication to the band's back line.
Next up were the guitarists. Prior to becoming a full-time member, John McGeoch was making his name with those other post punk icons, Magazine. His flanged arpeggios proved a perfect foil to the newer direction of Eastern-tinged songs that were now replacing the sub-Patti Smith-isms that had dragged down previous efforts. Also on board was the Pistols' underrated axeman, Steve Jones, who added much-needed muscle.
With Police producer, Nigel Gray, also on board to smooth out the edges, Kaleidoscope was to propel the Banshees into the major league and to also prove that they had chart potential aplenty. This was where their first hits finally emerged; "Happy House" - dripping with sarcasm - and "Christine", the proto-goth template that was such a burden in later years.
But every track is taut and smoothly seductive. From the psychedelic synth swoops of ."Tenant", to the weirdly atmospheric "Lunar Camel". Kaleidoscope was where Siouxsie came of age…” – BBC
Choice Cut: Happy House
Juju
Release Date: 6th June, 1981
Labels: Polydor/PVC (original U.S. release)/Geffen (1984 U.S. reissue)
Producers: Nigel Gray/Siouxsie and the Banshees
Standout Tracks: Into the Light/Arabian Knights/Night Shift
Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/siouxsie-and-the-banshees-e391454b-12ce-4714-a030-03be62edf747/juju
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/5OEum65e1HMGX51Ifu51Wb?si=jA_BZm7zRTeKn6-yo7jiHQ
Review:
“One of the band's masterworks, Juju sees Siouxsie and the Banshees operating in a squalid wall of sound dominated by tribal drums, swirling and piercing guitars, and Siouxsie Sioux's fractured art-attack vocals. If not for John McGeoch's marvelous high-pitched guitars, here as reminiscent of Joy Division as his own work in Magazine, the album would rank as the band's most gothic release. Siouxsie and company took things to an entirely new level of darkness on Juju, with the singer taking delight in sinister wordplay on the disturbing "Head Cut," creeping out listeners in the somewhat tongue-in-cheek "Halloween," and inspiring her bandmates to push their rhythmic witches brew to poisonous levels of toxicity. Album opener "Spellbound," one of the band's classics, ranks among their finest moments and bristles with storming energy. Siouxsie's mysterious voice emerges from dense guitar picking, Budgie lays into his drums as if calling soldiers to war, and things get more tense from there. "Into the Light" is perhaps the only track where a listener gets a breath of oxygen, as the remainder of the album screams claustrophobia, whether by creepy carnival waterfalls of guitar notes or Siouxsie's unsettling lyrics. "Arabian Nights" at least offers a gorgeously melodic chorus, but after that the band performs a symphony of bizarre wailings and freaky imagery. As ominous as the cacophony is on its own, close attention to Siouxsie's nearly subliminal chants paints a scarier picture. A passage such as "I saw you...a huge smiling central face with eyes and lips cut out but smiling and eating lots of other lips" doesn't exactly brighten one's day. Siouxsie is full of such quips throughout the album's running time, but her delivery packs as much punk as her message. Her attack-the-world dynamic range on "Voodoo Dolly" predates and out-weirds Björk's similar styling years later. McGeoch, Budgie, and bassist Steven Severin deserve just as much credit for crafting an original sound that would inspire a diverse group of future bands from Ministry to Placebo. All the while, producer Nigel Gray maintains the sense that the album is an immediate, edgy performance unfolding right in front of the listener. The upfront intensity of Juju probably isn't matched anywhere else in the catalog of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Thanks to its killer singles, unrelenting force, and invigorating dynamics, Juju is a post-punk classic” – AllMusic
Choice Cut: Spellbound
Hyæna
Release Date: 8th June, 1984
Labels: Polydor/Geffen (U.S.)
Producers: Siouxsie and the Banshees/Mike Hedges
Standout Tracks: Dazzle/Take Me Back/Bring Me the Head of the Preacher Man
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=42373&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/323iuhvsRRZap4VcT2F9Zf?si=h2-hSgTnRn-lzpFbHIhYlA
Review:
“Broadening the eclectically experimental landscape of 1982's Kiss in the Dream House with the occasional string arrangement and a spacious sound mix, Siouxsie and the Banshees' Geffen debut nicely bridges the gap between the band's handful of more-punk-than-pop early releases and their run of new wave, radio-friendly hits from the late '80s and early '90s. And though echoes of classic albums like Kaleidoscope and JuJu are heard in dark and menacing tracks such as "Bring Me the Head of the Preacher Man" and "Blow Your House Down," the emphasis here is on layered arrangements and pop tunes disguised as art-house production numbers ("Dazzle"); tasteful horn and keyboard parts expand the group's guitar-dominated sound and provide Siouxsie with an airy and dreamlike backdrop in which to fully display her considerable vocal talents. Siouxsie further refines things by also including a generous share of fleet and gothic-tinged pop numbers like "Belladonna," "Running Town," and the band's hit cover of "Dear Prudence." Anchored by the signature sound of Steven Severin's guitar-like bass and Budgie's exotically adept percussion work, Hyaena qualifies as one of Siouxsie and the Banshees' finest moments” – AllMusic
Choice Cut: Swimming Horses
The Underrated Gem
Superstition
Release Date: 10th June, 1991
Labels: Polydor/Geffen (U.S.)
Producer: Stephen Hague
Standout Tracks: Fear (of the Unknown)/Shadowtime/The Ghost in You
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/0MNKE093cSDfCrABTCCXwP?si=7-KgiFvlTi-MZuROzs-Etg
Review:
“Superstition followed after a three-year hiatus and found the band, somewhat bizarrely, teaming up with producer Stephen Hague (Pet Shop Boys, New Order) and his synthpop touches are evident throughout. This is a sleek affair, to be sure, but not one without its charms. 'Kiss Them For Me' features what is probably Sioux's finest-ever vocal performance and the song's streamlined and glittering features helped propel the single into the US Billboard charts for the first time in their lengthy career. As with 'Cry' and 'Drifter' there are flashes of the old Banshees but in the main, Superstition is daubed with Hague's fingerprints. However, as evidenced on the bouncing 'Silver Waterfalls', there are moments when the band and producer's ideas coalesce to create something quite special” – The Quietus
Choice Cut: Kiss Them for Me
The Final Album
The Rapture
Release Date: 16th January, 1995/14th February, 1995 (U.S.)
Labels: Polydor/Geffen (U.S.)
Producers: Siouxsie and the Banshees/John Cale
Standout Tracks: Stargazer/Not Forgotten/The Rapture
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/0w03cDwFhaT9BKE12PSvMJ?si=HHS4UBfiTl69fWp4Sun5UA
Review:
“It would have been easy to write off the Banshees after the so-so Superstition, especially given the fact that it came after two uneven and disappointing albums (including the unnecessary covers collection Through the Looking Glass) Frankly, one of punk's most consistently invigorating acts seemed to have run their course. Sure enough, The Rapture proved to be their final recording. The surprise is that it's a career highpoint. The band deny, incidentally, that they knew this was to be their last album. Quite how Siouxsie, Severin and Budgie rediscovered their chemistry is a moot point - some credited producer John Cale, who worked on four tracks - but rediscover it they did. Despite nods to the band's past in the savage "Not Forgotten," the real gems are the sunny-side-up "O, Baby" (when did Siouxsie ever sound so genuinely happy?) and an 11-minute title-track that is as dazzling as anything they have ever performed. A classic case of leaving the scene on a high note, and a fitting final chapter from one of punk's finest, and most dignified, bands” – AllMusic
Choice Cut: O Baby
The Siouxsie and the Banshees Book
Siouxsie and the Banshees' Peepshow: 132 (33 1/3)
Author: Dr. Samantha Bennett
Publication Date: 18th October, 2018
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic USA
Synopsis:
“In 1978, Siouxsie and the Banshees declared 'We don't see ourselves in the same context as other rock'n'roll bands.' A decade later, and in the stark aftermath of a devastating storm, the band retreated to a 17th-century mansion house in the deracinated Sussex countryside to write their ninth studio album, Peepshow. Here, the band absorbed the bygone, rural atmosphere and its inspirational mise en scène, thus framing the record cinematically, as Siouxsie Sioux recalled, 'It was as if we were doing the whole thing on the set of The Wicker Man'.
Samantha Bennett looks at how Siouxsie and the Banshees' Peepshow is better understood in the context of film and film music (as opposed to popular music studies or, indeed, the works of other rock'n'roll bands). Drawing upon more than one hundred films and film scores, this book focuses on Peepshow's deeply embedded historical and aesthetic (para)cinematic influences: How is each track a reflection of genre film? Who are the various featured protagonists? And how does Peepshow's diverse orchestration, complex musical forms, atypical narratives and evocative soundscapes reveal an inherently cinematic record? Ultimately, Peepshow can be read as a soundtrack to all the films Siouxsie and the Banshees ever saw. Or perhaps it was the soundtrack to the greatest film they never made” – Bloomsbury
Order: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Siouxsie-Banshees-Peepshow-Book-132-ebook/dp/B07H35CZPB