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Album by one of the fundamental groups of dark gothic and surroundings, and together with the previous "Hyaena," it shows openness towards more melodic and more digestible compositions for those who do not understand or cannot stomach the group's earlier, much more punk, dark, and rough works.
Janet the witch (I quote Bob Smith) offers us this "tin box"... are there candies inside? If you have no prejudices, start unwrapping the individual songs/bonbons because they have been packed with care and taste. "Candyman" is a scorching rock track with a sustained rhythm; Siouxsie seems like the Savonarola who, with a full-bodied voice, metaphorically denounces the dealers and warns the younger ones (the children's choirs are not accidental). "The Sweetest Chill" is a slow track with a seductive pace where the guitar seems to climb on bass and piano, double voices, and siren echoes. The use of string instruments creates a very refined "chamber music" effect.
"This Unrest" another slow-moving but very dark track that manages to create a sense of unease and tension. The interplay of bass and drums is accompanied by the piano and eerie singing until it fades into whispers. The jolt comes with "Cities in Dust," the leading single. The rhythm is a mix of drums and oriental percussion (gong, tubular bells, etc.), a signature of the great Budgie. One of the most cultured lyrics, dedicated to Pompeii: Siouxsie was deeply affected during her visit to the excavations, and the track is lively because it captures the last moments of daily life before "your city, friend, lies in the dust." "Cannons" is another proof of narrative skill. Drums and acoustic guitars evoke the frantic race of populations fleeing on their carts to take shelter from the cannon fire. A little folk and a little anguished nursery rhyme with interlude of gentle singing, as a truce during the escape, waiting for the rain to sabotage the gunpowder. "Party's Fall": the atmosphere is light, festive, the continuous changes, and the lyrics seem like a minuet in a modern key with free associations to "Belladonna" and Venetian Baroque...
"92°" one of the best tracks on the album inspired by a news event. Following the announcer's warning about the abnormal rise in temperature comes a series of drum rolls that, along with single guitar notes and a steady but haunting singing, build up. Siouxsie describes the devastating effects of the heatwave in the almost obsessive chorus, while the hypnotic guitar riff shifts to rarefied arpeggios that convey the idea of blurred and flickering images on the horizon. We reach the last candy... the richest one! "Land's End": the drums are played in a circular manner, chasing their own beats, bass and guitars are somewhat dreamy while the voice is enchanting and melancholic. In the pre-chorus, the rhythm changes and creates anticipation with cadenced drums and marimba while the story foresees the vertigo. From here, there is a crescendo of guitars with a simil-country pace, a fluid run until you manage to catch up with Siouxsie, and you return with her to the cadenced pre-chorus.
Sibylline and tempting, the lady in black begins to propose the leap off the cliff where "the land ends and the tale begins...".
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