SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES
Twice Upon a Time (Geffen)
Reviewed by Erick Mertz

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Beginning with the sonorous hailstorm of 1982's blistering "Fireworks" and running through "Face to Face," the final single ten years later, Siouxsie and the Banshee's Twice Upon A Time contains a thick collection of thematic gothic punk. Siouxsie and her dark brood bridge the gap between femme rock pioneer Patti Smith and gritty divas like Shirley Manson and P.J. Harvey. Most famous for their staple contributions to MTV's much missed underground video program "120 Minutes," "Peek-a-Boo" and "Kiss Them For Me," the Banshees book-ended those with some of the most interesting music created in a decade characterized in a large sense by corporate rock gentrification. Songs like "This Wheel's On Fire" and "Swimming Horses" evoke a concentration of CBGB images just as covers of the Beatles' "Dear Prudence" and Iggy Pop's "The Passenger" prove the depths of their influences.

For those who grew up with these black clad iconoclasts, there are few more profound explosions of pleasure than Siouxsie's cheshire trill; discoverers will find it possesses a unique and addictive quality, provided in spades on this collection of eighteen singles. Filled with euphoria, fear, anxiety and, ultimately, the laid back sexuality of a sinful jungle mistress, Twice Upon a Time is a perfect hat full of twists and turns.

© 2003 - Erick Mertz