Siouxsie and the Banshees - Monitor
It's been a good while since the last
Siouxsie song, so I figured it'd be a good choice for today. Siouxsie and The Banshees were formed in 1976 in London, England by singer Siouxsie Sioux and bassist Steven Severin. The band would utilize a number of guitarists over the years, including Robert Smith of The Cure and John McGeoch of Magazine, both of whom helped to create an incredibly unique sound that came to define the band. Though the group began in the London punk scene, they always had a penchant for the weird, and were always willing to experiment with new ideas and constantly evolve their sound, which has allowed them to remain one of the most influential bands of the time period.
Listen to Monitor by Siouxsie and the Banshees here.
This song is from the band's
1981 album Juju, which had quite a bit of commercial success in the UK. The guitar work on this album is considered some of McGeoch's best and most original to that date, and is considered to be a seminal post-punk sound. This song is a great example of his range as a songwriter, incorporating heavily distorted guitars and a really interesting harmonic vocabulary, which Sioux's melodies complement perfectly. The singles on this album (Arabian Knights and Spellbound) have such a different vibe than this track, which really helps make the album one of their most unique.