Kaleidoscope

There are tracks with no guitar, tracks with Siouxsie or Steve Severin playing guitar, tracks with sessions guitarists - it was an album borne of confusion, improvisation and perseverance. It spawned their most commercial material to date (Happy House, Christine), but probably some of the most subtly dark material that they have ever produced. An album of hidden menace rather than the overtly dark songs of the earlier albums, it both showcased the drumming talents of new drummer Budgie and let the world see the growing musical abilities of Siouxsie and Steve Severin.

Never have synthesizers been so dark; never has understated guitar been so in your face; and never has a vocal been so midway between whispered and sung as on this album. Like dark albums? Like eclectic new wave? Like good music? Buy it!

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Though I've noticed no mention of John McGeogh, Which has to be more that a tad strange because "Happy house" was his audition piece for the band, they put him in the studio with the track that had everything except guitar on it and he just played it, the end result being a pretty amazing piece of work.
He stayed with the band for several great albums, and this was the first of them.

John McGeogh was an innovator of a guitarist.
He began with Magazine, forming the band with Devoto & Adamson, and left shortly after the release of "The correct use of soap".
He was a member Magazine, Visage & the Banshees at the same time, deciding to devote his full attention to the banshees before the release of their "Spellbound" single.

He played on what were probably the best Banshees albums, "A kiss in the dreamhouse" has his stamp all over it, and having seen them on their "Juju" tour I can't imagine how anyone could forget that he played guitar for them, But most importantly how can you not realise he played every lick (if that's the right expression) on "Kaleidoscope".
This album proved they had new life in them, a new guitarist who played with more talent than Mr McKay, and a new drummer Budgie who was also a more talented and varied drummer than Mr Morris, McKay & Morris leaving was the best thing that could have happened to the band, this album sees them emerge as a broad winged butterfly with wings of steel.
Every track on here has something special From "Happy house" all the way through the eerie paranoia of "Tenant" which gives way to "trophy" which is equally eerie in subject matter dealing with dead keep-sake's of the past (among other things.
Every track on this album is so well put together "Hybrid" has got a great almost military drum intro followed by some sweeping guitar & rumbling bass which is then overtaken by Saxophone that sounds almost like a hunting horn (it may be more than a little intentional I think) a haunting song to say the least.
Even the almost instrumental (except for the woah woah ah's) "Clockface" has some great work in it's 1 minute 53 seconds, while "Lunar Camel" is a real dreamscape of a song almost hypnotic. "Christine" opens with a chord from a 12 string guitar a split second later drums a driving bass line join the almost harp like 12 string guitar as Siouxsie sings with a kind of play gound menace of The Strawberry girl whose personality changes tear her apart as she struggles with them.
"Desert kisses" has the most amazing Arabian type feel to it some great almost phased guitar and siouxsie's vocal which verges on the operatic make it like sinking into a hypnotic sonic sandstorm.
"Red light"'s backdrop of synthetic percussion deals with what appears to be the camera's theft of more than a persons image in a pornographic sense with siouxsie menacingly almost whispering the words, giving way to "Paradise place" which has a really upbeat guitar hook laden rhythm it is a catchy little tune dealing which the paranoia of plastic surgery gone wrong a very upbeat tune.
"Skin" is the albums closing track, and what closing track it is on first listen it appears to be a sort of animal rights song about rich smelly people wearing fur but there is something more sinister in it than that and it has some great guitar on it as well as some truly amazing drums, every track on this album is a gem, and it is where they left their punk roots way behind.

One of their best, but seemingly almost ignored albums, heaven knows why, but I'm wondering why in hell it should be so, but it & you won't regret it.

You miss out this Banshees album and you miss one of their best, this is their butterfly from chrysalis stage.

When McKay & Morris left I though the banshees would be sunk, however thanks to John & Budgie consolidating what Siouxsie & Steve were capable of we had a band reborn, thanks John I'm glad you were there, as everyone who loves this album is.

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