This sophomore effect by the Banshees (and the last with the original lineup) appears to be out of print - or at last not easily accessible - but I finally found a copy at a reasonable price and picked it up. While not quite as aggressively atonal and abrasive as
The Scream, and while there are a few hints of the slightly more commercial direction that they would take after this, this is still a strong record and a shame that it's not more available.
The short, atmospheric opener, "Poppy Day" has a slight resemblance to "Pure" from the debut but with a bit more structure, although it is still quite open. Lyrically based on the 1915 poem by John McCrae about the loss of a friend in WWI. Interestingly, the (roughly) 2 minute length was meant to "fill the gap" for 2 minutes of silence for the war dead that bassist Severin noted on TV in 1978. "Regal Zone" is more of a punk rocker, but with odd sax lines and a dark sound and a bit of the Banshees drone that defined the debut. Maybe it's just me, but the sax kinda reminds me of the Psychedelic Furs great debut. Some excellent biting, slicing guitar noize starts off "Placebo Effect" - another number that could have come off of their first record, with simple, pounding Monks-like drums (little to no cymbals) and twisted melodies. Siouxie really does have an interesting and unique style of phrasing her lyrics to great effect. Simple, slashing, droney chords opens "Icon" but it quickly moves with odd changes'n'melodies into a fast-paced, but still gloomy, number. They were definitely experimenting with different types of sounds'n'melodies - still dark, but leaning a bit more pop-oriented, I would say. They truly get doom-laden for "Premature Burial", with an appropriately spooky sound for this tribute to EA Poe, particularly Siouxie's (the guys join in later, as well) haunting backing vocals (something they seemed to play with more on this album, as well). The guitar is particularly effective on this one with various tones, swells, and odd changes.
Flip over to Side B of the original vinyl and we get "Playground Twist", that adds some orchestration for a fuller, Exorcist-soundtrack type of feeling while still retaining a pounding beat and added some sax on top of the mix. An endlessly repetitive music box melody is the basis for "Mother/Oh Mein Papa", based on an old-time German song - interesting, but it doesn't ever really go anywhere, not that it necessarily needs to! (Although the constant repetition goes on so long that it kinda reminds me of the MC5's "Sister Anne" and its closing Salvation Army Band that seemingly never ends!).
"The Lord's Prayer" is, of course, what started it all for the Banshees as a version of this was the (previous version of the) group's entire set for their live debut. Naturally, I had no idea what that sounded like but here they again employ a simple, driving drum beat and a couple of chords that Siouxie (apparently) vamps over, with lines from whatever came to mind (nursery rhymes, song lyrics, famous quotes, etc.) intertwined with whoops'n'yelps and shrieks and a bit of occasional guitar noise. She does, occasionally, actually recite a bit of the Lord's Prayer, but only a bit. Considering the 14+ minute length, it probably could have used a bit more musical variety, but overall, is captivates.
While I will always have a soft spot for The Scream, this one holds up nicely as a follow up - I wish I had found it at the time!
