Does the idea of a Siouxsie and the Banshees album with the music made up of almost entirely percussion sound appealing to you? Well, that’s probably the easiest way of explaining this Creatures record to someone who isn’t familiar with it (as I wasn’t). It’s got a similar vibe to their parent band except the vast majority of noises are made by percussion instruments (and the occasional horns and other things).

So, after ignoring Siouxsie Sioux’s existence for most of my life, I have now become a massive fan. At this point I think I might just like everything she does, but I’m sure I’ll find something I’m not into a some point.

This record is not it. I find her sense of melody pretty great as usual and, though she will never be one of my favourite songwriters, I like the songs enough that I don’t spend much time focusing on them as songs, if you know what I mean. (What I mean is: I like the melodies enough and I don’t care about the lyrics as he’s a decent enough lyricist.)

The real draw for me, as it usually is, is her voice. I find her beguiling on this record, and I find the overdubs mostly quite effective and used just enough to help create a large sound world when there isn’t often much going on in the songs.

It’s somewhat of a lean record, but it often has a bunch of percussion instruments on one track. The non-percussion instruments are extremely limited – horns, the odd keyboard, a harmonica – but the result feels like a completely fresh spin on the Banshee’s sound. Not only is everything more sedate (for the most part) but the reliance on percussion for so much of the sound just makes everything sound fresh. (Also, it sounds distinctly unlike 1989, which is wonderful.)

I just really, really like this a lot. And I want to listen to their other records.

8/10

Read my reviews of albums released in 1989 read my reviews of albums by Siouxsie and the Banshees.