Siouxsie amp Banshees - Superstition (11 tracks) +Album Reviews

Hard To Believe This Is The Banshees

mike | Australia | 07/27/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After listening to 'Superstition' right after my previous Siouxsie purchases, 'Juju' 'Keleiodoscope' and 'Once Upon A Time' I must say I couldn't believe my ears. I'd just gone from screepy, scary and sometimes downright abrasive to something mellow, produced and almost poppish. 'SELLOUT!' voices in my head screamed.However, once I got over myself (as i hope some other reviewers here will one day) I realised that 'Susperstition' when viwed objectively rather than in context of The Banshees wide catologue holds very good ground of its own right. While Stephen Hague's production gets a little over zealous at times (the layered synth work does get somewhat cluttering) and the lyrics are somewhat unfocused ('Cry' appears to be addressing two issues here, and as for 'Little Sister' and 'Silver Waterfalls, well they just don't make sense) there are many strong tracks on here that are either catchy or will eventually grow on you.Siouxsie has always being provocative, and on several count here doesn't fail. 'Kiss Them For Me' is subjected around Jayne Mansfield's tragic crashing incident and 'The Ghost In You' reflects the Tinnamen Square massacre. And how can you forget 'Fear (Of The Unknown)' where Siouxsie asks us what it would be like to jump off a tall building? However the overall mood of the album is melancholic rather than gothic or scary as is the Banshee trademark, the songs being slices of brooding music to dance to rather than have nightmares over. Siouxsie's voice also is somewhat more subduded and she proves here she is capable of singing.Favorite cuts are 'Kiss Them For Me' (despite being WAY overproduced) 'Drifter' 'Little Sister' 'Silver Waterfalls' and 'The Ghost In You' (with its new age synths here sounds like Siouxsie meets Enigma.)'Cry' and 'Shadowtime' while I love both these songs to bits, are perhaps a litle TOO early nineties FM pop fare. I can't say I like 'Fear(Of The Unknown)' altho its highly danceable its just SOOO monotone (the melody is almost one note throughout the whole song!!) Softly is great at first but is too long at 6 minutes, esp. since its so repititious.Don't be fooled by other reviews that tell you this album is just fluffy pop. It is so way beyond that. Just be prepared to be shocked if you own other SATB albums. There are good songs behind the overly zealous production."

Super.

H3@+h | VT | 12/16/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'll admit, the earlier years of this band were great, but I do like this album quite alot as well. No punk to be found here, just lush melodies, and alot of catchy goth-pop. A number of tracks do seem to be ready for the mainstream, but there's a few which are dark and spooky too. Included is possibly their biggest hit "Kiss Them For Me", "Shadowtime", and "Fear (of the unknown)". But the beauty of this album lies in the tracks "Drifter", "Little Sister", "Silver Waterfalls", and the gorgeous "The Ghost In You". All of those are excellent. I'm not sure how anyone couldn't like this album. Any "Siouxsie" fan should, or at least any fan of "Peep Show"."

Mostly melodic and dreamy with eccentric flourishes

jon sieruga | Redlands, CA USA | 07/20/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When Siouxsie Sioux gets going, her music can scare cats and little children away for miles. In the more-staid early '90's, she's a bit more melodic and dreamy, and "Superstition" reveals different shades of her musical personality. "Shadowtime" and "The Ghost In You" are hauntingly lovely, "Kiss Them For Me" really cooks, and "Silly Thing" is playfully snazzy. I didn't care for the single "Fear(of the Unknown)" or the harder-edged "Cry", but die-hards will probably like those more and the ballads less. It's a touch too slick, but still too eccentric to be labeled 'corporate pop'..and thank God for that!"

Siouxsie's best album and one worth returning to again & aga

Brent | Frederick, MD | 09/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a person that wouldn't call myself a diehard Siouxsie fan. I liked her older albums, but they mostly never had enough melodic, or harmonic, or lyrical content that really moved me.

Many of the hardcore Siouxsie fans here have noted one reason for not liking this album was the production of Stephen Hague, it was overproduced, synthy, lush, etc. That's actually one of the reasons why I like it better. I love a lot of 80s music: Depeche Mode, The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, OMD, Clan of Xymox, REM, so the elements of Hague's influence & 80s music which are more apparent on this album, ie, synthesizers & overproduction if that's what you want to call it, I love.

But most of all, the music's well written with lovely melodies, haunting harmonies, and wonderfully poetic lyrics. That's not to say that some older Siouxsie doesn't have these, just that this album has more of all 3. The lyrics in fact stand solidly on their own, seperate from the music. I read older Siouxsie lyrics and this is typically not the case. My favorite all-time Siouxsie song, "Ghost in You," is a great example, "You awoke in a burning paperhouse, from infinite fields Of dreamless sleep." It's deep, for lack of a better word, and thoughtful, and dare I say sensitive. "Dare I trespass to lift the veil, to touch the lips so soft and frail?"

To me this just seemed like a more mature project, not like the harder punk elements of earlier Siouxsie had died or even softened, but that they'd been expressed in a more articulate way.

The performance of Siouxsie and the band is top notch. Hague does put Siouxsie's voice more inline with the music. I like it, no I prefer it that way. It was as if Siouxsie stepped back removing her eggo from the spotlight so much and said, "no, the music and I will go hand in hand."

It's 2006, 15 years since the group released this album, and I'm still going back to it."

Poppy, melodic Banshees

FLK6677 | IL, United States | 11/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, this album is a far cry from the earlier releases such as "Juju." It's not dark, it's dreamy. It's intention is not to scare you away or give you nightmares, but to draw you in and allow you to explore its melodies. I think that's why Banshees fans tend to either love it or hate it. If you're open to different (in this case more lighthearted) sounds, you'll probably love it, but if you exclusively like darker music, you'll probably want to pass on this.

I am in the former camp, and this is one of my favorite Banshees albums. "Goths" beware -- it's beautiful, melodic pop-rock. It still has the Banshees quirkiness, but it comes in a softer and more accessible form than before. The melodies of "Kiss Them for Me," "Shadowtime" and "The Ghost in You" in particular are exquisite and instantly memorable. The only thing that would have made this album better is the inclusion of b-sides such as "Staring Back" and "Return," which are some of the most beautiful and dreamy songs I've ever heard.

If you consider Banshees singles such as "Peek-a-boo," "Cities in Dust" and "The Killing Jar" to be among the band's best work, do not hesitate in picking up "Superstition." If not, you'll definitely want to check out the audio samples before adding this one to your cart."

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	Siouxsie & Banshees Superstition Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock Track Listings (11) - Disc #1 Kiss Them for Me Fear (Of the Unknown) Cry Drifter Little Sister Shadowtime Silly Thing - Siouxsie and the Banshees, Parker, Graham Got to Get Up Silver Waterfalls Softly The Ghost in You
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