Siouxsie and The Banshees- Kaleidoscope (1980) MP3 & FLAC

"Every new problem brings a stranger inside, helplessly forcing one more new disguise."

Siouxsie and The Banshees' debut, Scream, stands as one of the truly essential recordings of the original British Punk scene, but their follow-up, Join Hands, with its unrelenting bleakness, noticeable lack of musical focus, and muddy production, nearly put an end to one of the greatest bands of the Post-Punk era before they had a chance to create their most distinctive work. On the heels of a personnel shake-up that brought a significant influx of talent into the band including a new drummer, Budgie, who had formerly played with The Slits and ex-Magazine guitarist John McGeoch, Siouxsie & co. returned to the studio and proceeded to record, with the help of some fine production work by Nigel Gray, their first indisputably great album, Kaleidoscope. While undoubtedly a transitional record, Kaleidoscope is arguably the band's finest moment, as it manages to retain the unmitigated darkness of the previous albums while pushing the band's sound in a much more experimental and atmospheric direction. A perfect example of this is "Tenant," which features, among other things, acoustic guitar and electric sitar. Instead of abrasiveness, the song demonstrates a lighter, more subtle touch; however Siouxsie Sioux's much-improved vocals lend the song its strange sense of dread. While "Christine," the single, hearkens back to Scream in certain respects, the enhanced sonic palette and stark beauty of the song allow it to transcend anything the band had previously released. Kaleidoscope was not only a huge creative leap forward for the band, but, true to its name, it is one of the most hypnotically beautiful albums of the original Post-Punk era.

Kaleidoscope (2006 Remastered and Expanded Edition)
 1. Happy House  (3:52)
 2. Tenant  (3:41)
 3. Trophy  (3:19)
 4. Hybrid  (5:32)
 5. Clockface  (1:52)
 6. Lunar Camel  (3:02)
 7. Christine  (3:00)
 8. Desert Kisses  (4:14)
 9. Red Light  (3:23)
10. Paradise Place  (4:33)
11. Skin  (3:54)
-Bonus Tracks-
12. Christine (Warner Chappell Demo)  (2:02)
13. Eve White / Eve Black (Warner Chappell Demo)  (1:59)
14. Arabia (Lunar Camel) (Warner Chappell Demo)  (2:54)
15. Sitting Room (Warner Chappell Demo)  (1:26)
16. Paradise Place (Warner Chappell Demo)  (2:28)
17. Desert Kisses (Polydor Demo)  (4:23)
18. Hybrid (Polydor Demo)  (5:43)
19. Happy House (Polydor Demo)  (5:26)
20. Israel (7' A-Side)  (5:00)

MU: Lossy (MP3@320) 

MU: Lossless (FLAC)