The Post Punk Nightmare

Siouxsie, siouxsie, sioux...how sweet the sound of that name and how sweeter the music.

Formed in 1976, Siouxsie and the Banshees would come to pioneer much of the goth rock spirit and doctrine that captured so many imaginations in its day while at the same time channeling new and fascinating spells in the history of rock and roll music that contributed so greatly to their diverse yet concentrated sound.

At the longstanding core of Siouxsie and the Banshees is lead singer and frontlady Siouxsie Sioux (Susan Janet Ballion), bass guitarist Steven Severin (Steven John Bailey) and drummer Budgie (Peter Edward Clarke). The initial formation was simply Severin and Sioux who in 1976 were two disillusioned English kids that found the calling and promise of punk rock expression. Budgie would come in as a replacement for drummer Kenny Morris on their 1979 Join Hands tour and would stay a constant member.

While the Siouxsie and the Banshees emerged from the London punk rock scene their music from the very beginning showed features of a more progressive and varied sound eventually evolving into a new wavey, electronic and atmospheric din that grew with their popularity. Siouxsie and the Banshees with each incarnation reflected changing popular impulses in music, but tore them apart, and stripped them down to their most raw and bare elements that would allow them to bang out music that in the entirety of the album was stimulating with every second.

The album I showcase is Siouxsie and the Banshee's fourth studio album Juju which was originally released in 1981.
Like the much of Siouxsie and the Banshees material, a poetical world is set out to be explored and Juju is no exception. Juju with pounding slavish drums, and the unique spiraling wail of guitarist John McGeoch is a dive into deep, deep darkness that ensconces the listener before towering sounds. The album is rife with a kind of sparkling, fluttering energy that pounces from the start with the hit 'Spellbound', before coldly zipping in the album's closer 'Voodoo Dolly'.

Available here is the reissued, and remastered version of Juju, released by Polydor records in 2006, and as such, comes with three bonus tracks.

Enjoy.


Siouxsie and the Banshees - Juju (1981)