Siouxsie & The Banshees / Nocturne

It’s no esoteric bit of trivia that The Cure’s Robert Smith joined Siouxsie & The Banshees in 1983, stepping in on guitar after John McGeoch left in October 1982 following a nervous breakdown just prior to the release of A Kiss In The Dreamhouse. This was the second time he joined the Banshees, having previously […]

Curve – “Horror Head”

While Curve are usually named in the second tier of first-wave shoegaze bands, they haven’t gotten the same level of respect as their ’90s peers, despite arguably just as groundbreaking. They embraced electronic and dance textures earlier than most, and frontwoman Toni Halliday’s sexy/scary charisma set the template for many alt.rock rocks to follow. A […]

Wire – “Kidney Bingos”

Saluting of one of the most satisfying combinations of melody and gibberish, “Kidney Bingos”, the single from Wire’s 1988 album A Bell Is A Cup… Until It Is Struck. In a 1988 interview with McGill University radio station CKUT, Colin Newman offered these thoughts on the song: “There’s always been a very strong pop element […]

Ride – “Leave Them All Behind”

Last year, I marked the 29th anniversary of Ride’s Going Blank Again with a “Twisterella” post so this year – the much rounder 30th birthday – here’s the record’s opening track. While understandable that the video uses the radio edit – it’s doubtful the full eight-plus minutes would have cracked the UK top 10 – […]

XTC’s English Settlement at 40

This year marks the 40th anniversary of XTC’s fifth album, English Settlement, a record that represents the inflection point in the band’s career between the frantic, high-energy post-punk they made their name with to the more orchestrated, pastoral sounds that defined the remainder of their active years. It also marked the final record that the […]

The Cure in Orange

As one whose real-time experience with The Cure started with Wish, I still have a number of blind spots with their discography and so coming across this article in Paste about the 35th anniversary of their 1987 concert film The Cure In Orange was quite an eye-opener, as I a) didn’t know it existed and […]

Beach House – “Alien”

I’m a little ashamed it’s taken over a year for me to acknowledge one of the best purveyors of dreampop in the business hereabouts, but with Beach House releasing their eighth – and maybe best? – new record Once Twice Melody out today, here’s some Beach House love. “Alien” dates to the sessions for 2018’s […]