The Scream

by Siouxsie and the Banshees

Overview

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. ~ Ned Raggett

Product Details

Release Date:	03/17/2009
Label:	Polydor
UPC:	0602498435113

Tracks

1. Pure
2. Jigsaw Feeling
3. Overground
4. Carcass
5. Helter Skelter
6. Mirage
7. Metal Postcard (Mittageisen)
8. Nicotine Stain
9. Suburban Relapse
10. Switch
11. Hong Kong Garden
12. The Staircase (Mystery)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Siouxsie and the Banshees   Primary Artist
Siouxsie Sioux   Vocals,Voices
Steven Severin   Bass,Guitar,Keyboards,Synthesizer,Guitar (Bass)
John McKay   Guitar,Saxophone
Kenny Morris   Drums,Percussion

Technical Credits

Steve Lillywhite   Producer,Mixing Engineer,Mixing
John Lennon   Composer
Mike Stavrou   Mixing
Siouxsie Sioux   Artwork,Composer,Lyricist
Siouxsie and the Banshees   Artwork,Composer,Producer
Paul McCartney   Composer
Steven Severin   Composer,Lyricist
Nils Stevenson   Producer
Peter Fenton   Composer
Paul Wakefield   Photography
John McKay   Composer
Susan Janet Ballion   Composer
Kenny Morris   Composer