Ju Ju by Siouxsie & The Banshees

Interesting to compare and contrast this album with Talk, Talk, Talk by The Psychedelic Furs that the random generator gave me yesterday. Both albums are from 1981, both described as Post Punk but listening to them one after the other shows that they are very different in tone and feel. Siouxsie was one of the original Bromley contingent of punks and can be seen in the background of the notorious Sex Pistols interview where they - gasp! - swore on live tv. To be fair, the lecherous Bill Grundy really was a dirty old fucker.

As with just about everyone on that scene she didn’t hesitate to form a band and quickly established a unique sound that was darker and more sophisticated than contemporary punk thrash. Although she doesn’t like the term, this is definitely one of the roots of both goth rock and the associated fashion sense - Siouxsie single handedly invented the goth archetype of huge black hair, black clothes and heavy black eyeliner.

This album has a lot going for it - distinctive heavy bass, interesting guitar sounds (using an odd little gadget called a Gizmo to good effect), phenomenal drumming from Budgie (who would later form the Creatures spin off band with Siouxsie) and most importantly Siouxsie’s dark, shimmering vocals giving a unique feel to this album. The lyrics are also edging into dark (and dare I say Gothic) territory - not quite a concept album but there’s a definite air of the macabre here.

Definitely-not-goth-no,siree-tastic!