9 Siouxsie Mantaray Decca | 2007 | Album Biography Comments (0) Read Full Page Digg Review Add del.icio.us   On her debut solo album Mantaray, iconic singer Siouxsie (that's the Siouxsie of Siouxsie Sioux and the Banshees - friend to The Sex Pistols) growls "I'm on the edge of an awakening" ("Into a Swan") and she wasn't kidding.    The songs here are largely about transformation and coming into one's own but more importantly, they celebrate a huge rebirth for this cult-favorite.  Siouxsie still has her fierce goth delivery but now she wraps her stinging vocals in a ragged industrial rock edge that sets her up as an oldtime warrior battling for and sure to win the title of  high priestess of the underground. Roaring "I can't explain it / I can't contain it" ("About to Happen") even Siouxsie seems slightly amazed by her late career surge.   The fiery Brit singer has always had a devil-may-care attitude but this time out, that kind of fearlessness has freed up not just her attitude and fashion sense but her musical palette as well.  "Here Comes That Day" flirts with funk and Siouxsie is more than game to dive in and attack the bouncy undercurrent.  On "Loveless" the singer raises an arch eyebrow at love as she coos "All that sweetness/Covered falseness". Maybe most incendiary and surprising is the slow-burner "If It Doesn't Kill You". It's hard to think of Siouxsie as a woman who has grown into a sage truth-teller, ready to hand out advice but she has lived a "life" and she offers up some words of wisdom here, chanting out " If it doesn't kill you / It will shape you / If it doesn't break you / It will make you".   She also lays herself  (and every one else who has spent some time in the public eye) bare on another of the album's stellar tracks "Heaven and Alchemy" where she explores the difference between truly loving someone and loving the "idea" of someone.   "One Mile Below" has a nice stomping beat  and "Drone Zone" plays with some modern jazzy sounds but they're largely throw aways when you consider the attitude-drenched dare of the other songs.  Amy Wagner Comments (0) Help Support Kevchino - Use these links to buy new music.

Releases Siouxsie - Mantaray Decca - 2007 - Album Similar Bands & Projects Siouxsie & the Banshees Yeah Yeah Yeahs Artist Website Siouxsie - Official Website