Siouxsie - Mantaray

Footloose and Banshee-free

Such have been Siouxsie Sioux’s powers of invention over the past 30 years, both with The Banshees and The Creatures, it’s strange that her first solo album has been so long in coming. Alt rock’s empress of aloof, however, was not to be rushed. Neither, thankfully, has she let herself feel pressured into hopping on a passing bandwagon or adopting a radical redefinition wholesale.

Collaborating with a number of different songwriters, she’s had the sense to play to her strengths while trying on some new garbs for size. Into A Swan, dark industrial pop-rock reminiscent of Garbage, showcases the mature strength of her voice and provides a manifesto of metamorphosis, as Siouxsie bellows “I feel a force I’ve never felt before… I burst out, I’m transformed”. The sassy synth-rock of About To Happen and Yeah Yeah Yeahs-ish strut of One Mile Below show that she can absorb modern sounds without floundering, while on Here Comes That Day and If It Doesn’t Kill You she morphs into Shirley Basseyesque jazzy diva, twisting again into Nicolette-style trip-hop seductress on Drone Zone.

There’s little in the way of ‘holy shit’ moments, but the range of material and Siouxsie’s exuberance makes Mantaray a prize catch.

3 stars 3 stars 3 stars

W14 | 173 995-6

Reviewed by Emily Mackay
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