viernes, junio 19, 2026

Rocktrospectiva: The Influential "JuJu" Turns 45

Released on 19 June 1981 "Juju" was the 4th., studio album by the British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was recorded at Surrey Sound studio with Nigel Gray as co-producer, and was released on 19 June 1981 by Polydor Records. Two singles were released from Juju: "Spellbound" and "Arabian Knights".

After the slightly electronic bent of their previous album, 1980's Kaleidoscope, Siouxsie and the Banshees returned to a guitar-based sound for Juju, due to the presence of now-official guitarist McGeoch. The album also prominently featured the intricate percussion work of band member Budgie. According to Steven Severin: "Juju was the first time we'd made a "concept" album that drew on darker elements. It wasn't pre-planned, but, as we were writing, we saw a definite thread running through the songs; almost a narrative to the album as a whole".

The album was recorded at co-producer Gray's Surrey Sound studio. There, McGeoch experimented with a rarely used guitar effects device called the Gizmo for the album track "Into the Light". Attached to the guitar's bridge, the Gizmo used keyed wheels to press the strings, giving a McGeoch's guitar the sound of a classical string instrument. For "Arabian Knights", McGeoch transformed a tune by Siouxsie, initially in waltz rhythm, that she had composed on a Vox Teardrop guitar. For "Sin in My Heart", McGeoch used an EBow while playing guitar.

Juju was a post-punk & art rock album, however, Juju has also been cited by certain critics as gothic rock, though the band dispute such categorisation.

Critics praised the album, by observing that Siouxsie's voice "seems to have acquired a new fullness of melody" with "a rich, dark smoothness", others considered that "Juju, might be considered their second best and it remains a critical favourite and is seen as a landmark album of post-punk until now.
 
Juju Track List:  
 
1. Spellbound
2. Into The Light
3. Arabian Knights
4. Halloween
5. Monitor
6. Night Shift
7. Sin In My Heart
8. Head Cut
9. Voodoo Dolly

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