Peepshow. Five stars.
With Peepshow, the Banshees finally return to form with a set of songs that all have their own individual sound and aren't buried under ham-fisted production. Plus, there's ony ten of them, so filler is non-existent.
Peek-a-Boo is a truly weird song. It's mostly indescribable, and there was a time when I couldn't stand it. It's grown on me a lot since then, however I must say it gives you no clue as to the album's sound. It doesn't fit in at all, but it easily gains your attention for the rest of it.
The Killing Jar is a solid follow-up. The lyric is pretty awkward, but the melody is good. And the band is great. There's a lot of depth to the music on this record, yet another reason I enjoy it so much.
Next is Scarecrow, one of my favorites. It starts very slow and low key, with vivid imagery. Then it leaps into a propulsive chorus before slowing down again. It rises up beautifully as it progresses. A standout.
Carousel changes gears entirely. The music easily evokes an empty, haunted carnival. It's not eventful -- taking almost the entire song to start building up to the chorus -- but it makes up for it with atmosphere.
Burn-up is nearly the best song on Peepshow. It's a country-western styled song, with typical Siouxsie subject matter. It's a joyous celebration of a pyromaniac and the song structure mimics a raging fire to its best ability. It's super fast-paced and is great fun to listen to
Ornaments of Gold is lush and elegant, along with being emotionally distant. It's also very memorable. Fourth in a row of great songs.
Turn to Stone has some vocal effects I don't much care for. The song has a very romantic flavor, though the lyric makes no sense. The chorus is easy to remember and there's some nice guitar work. A lovely interlude.
Rawhead and Bloody Bones is a freaky little experiment. Use your imagination, it's worth it.
I think the worst track onboard is The Last Beat of My Heart. It's musically quite uneventful and flat, and the lyric is pretty overwrought. Still, Siouxsie's voice is nice enough to carry it off. I don't get any emotion out of it, though. As far as I'm concerned, this is just the pause for breath before the finale.
Rhapsody eclipses the whole album. Siouxsie's voice arrests you instantly, backed by cold, mechanical music. Then it begins to rise up into a powerhouse of tragic majesty. The lyric is beautiful and Siouxsie soars with it. The very first time I heard it, Rhapsody was my instant favorite in the Banshee cannon. It's one of the finest examples of a crescendo I've ever heard, and it makes for a glorious finale.
For months, this was my favorite record by Siouxsie and the Banshees. Now I'm not so sure, but it's easily in my top three and is better than any of their previous work for Geffen.
(And in explanation of the title of the post, I thought most of AllMusic's Siouxsie reviews hit the nail on the head. However, they cursorily dismissed Peepshow as "the sound of a once-great band treading water" or some such hogwash. Everyone has their opinion, but they could at least make an effort to explain things. That review wasn't even as long as this footnote!)
I'm not sure how this band can be accused of treading water when they changed guitarists for every record. If you've got a guitarist, that player is pretty much going to define the sound, it's just the nature of guitar.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Allmusic would have liked this record better if they'd listened to it :)