“Join Hands” by Siouxsie and The Banshees - album review

features in: Album Chart of 1979Album Chart of the Decade: 1970s

TJR says

“Join Hands” was knocked for the bleakness by some critics but, hey, c’mon, some of us quite like a bit of bleakness in our musical diet. Could’ve been better with a tad more melody mind you, which is where it falls down, slightly. The album is home to some interesting work though – opener ”Poppy Day” laments the loss of life in World War I against a marching beat and some abrasive guitar, and the disturbing “Playground Twist” is a stone-classic of the Post-Punk Nursery-Rhyme variety. The disconcerting eeriness is accentuated on “Mother/Mein Papa”, which begins prettily with a music box, but soon reveals an anguished, screwed-up child, caught halfway between love and hate for the parent. “Lord’s Prayer” has no such confusion – the contempt for religion is there for all to hear. “There’s Never Been A Heaven” screams our heroine. My ghetto-blaster’s cued up, volume set to 11, and ready for those door-chapping Mormon weirdos. Go Siouxsie.

The Jukebox Rebel
27–Dec–2007

Tracklist
A1 [02:02] 7.2.png Siouxsie and The Banshees - Poppy Day (Susan Ballion, John McKay, Steven Bailey, Kenny Morris) Post-Punk
A2 [03:47] 6.2.png Siouxsie and The Banshees - Regal Zone (Susan Ballion, John McKay, Steven Bailey, Kenny Morris) Post-Punk
A3 [04:37] 6.0.png Siouxsie and The Banshees - Placebo Effect (Susan Ballion, John McKay, Steven Bailey, Kenny Morris) Post-Punk
A4 [05:27] 6.0.png Siouxsie and The Banshees - Icon (Susan Ballion, John McKay, Steven Bailey, Kenny Morris) Post-Punk
A5 [05:58] 6.3.png Siouxsie and The Banshees - Premature Burial (Susan Ballion, John McKay, Steven Bailey, Kenny Morris) Post-Punk
B1 [02:59] 9.5.png Siouxsie and The Banshees - Playground Twist (Susan Ballion, John McKay, Steven Bailey, Kenny Morris) New Wave
B2 [03:22] 7.0.png Siouxsie and The Banshees - Mother / Oh Mein Papa (Susan Ballion - Paul Burkhard, Jürg Amstein, Geoffrey Parsons, John Turner) Avant-Garde
B3 [14:10] 7.2.png Siouxsie and The Banshees - The Lord’s Prayer (Traditional) Punk

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