Second appointment dedicated to Siouxsie and the Banshees: today we're talking about "Kaleidoscope".

Their third studio album, "Kaleidoscope" (1980), marks a significant change in the band's lineup. During the tour promoting "Join Hands" (1979), an argument led to Morris and McKay leaving the group. They were replaced by guitarist John McGeoch and drummer Peter Clarke, better known as Budgie (the latter would remain with the band until its dissolution). With their arrival, we witness an important shift: Siouxsie and the Banshees were about to become one of the most successful alternative-pop groups of the '80s, incorporating synthesizers and drum machines into their tracks while maintaining the dark and anguished themes of their previous albums. The previous album, "Join Hands", revolved around the theme of World War I, chosen as a device to criticize the global political situation of those years. The lyrics aimed to reflect the climate of suffering and anguish of the historical period, focusing on the desperation and loneliness of both front-line soldiers and families. A strong sense of claustrophobia emerges from all the tracks, especially from "Poppy Day" and "Playground Twist". In "Christine", the second single from "Kaleidoscope", the Banshees abandon the war theme to return to the equally dark and paranoid atmospheres of their first album. Inspired by the book "The Three Faces of Eve", the song tells the story of Christine Sizemore, a woman who reportedly had 22 different personalities. Like "Christine", "Happy House", the album's lead single, opens with McGeoch's hypnotic guitar riff, while Budgie's drums give the track a slightly reggae rhythm. Siouxsie's sarcasm transpires not only from the lyrics but also from the music video, where the singer, wearing a Harlequin costume, explores the rooms of a house that seems to have come straight out of a cartoon. Among the most experimental tracks on the album are the electro-rock "Red Light", where the tempo is marked by the sound of camera clicks, and the atmospheric "Lunar Camel", dominated by Severin's synthesizers. In the year of its publication, "Kaleidoscope" reached the fifth position in the English chart, the highest the band had achieved up to that point. Critics particularly praised the sound experimentation and Siouxsie's powerful voice, who besides singing and writing, also expressed herself through synth, piano, and occasionally guitar. 

We suggest listening to "Happy House", which, like numerous tracks by the band, has been sampled multiple times by other artists (it can be easily recognized in The Weeknd's "House of Balloons" from the album of the same name in 2011). Enjoy listening!