The band wrote the songs in a residential studio in Wales. The album was then recorded with producer Stephen Hague in London at RAK Studios. Hague used techniques that Siouxsie Sioux did not approve of later, such as computer-based production. She stated: "There are still songs I like on it, like 'Kiss Them for Me' and 'Drifter', but we were trying a different kind of working style, a different kind of discipline, during which I really built a strong case against computers."
The band were confident, on a roll, and ready to give their music a fresh approach, hoping to refine the concept as much as they had on Peepshow and Boomerang. Stephen Hague, producer of synthpop albums by OMD, New Order, and The Communards, approached them and expressed great interest in working with them.
Although Siouxsie would admit years later that the mix wasn't "wicked enough," she initially thought so, and after meeting with him to confirm, they accepted, from a formal standpoint, it was a brilliant move, because after months of hiatus, the raw material they had consisted of demos that Steven Severin had recorded at home, using technology that was new to him. "Some songs started when Severin was getting the hang of the computer," Budgie explained in 1991, "and he would bring us music sequences, which in turn was a fantastic way to start working with a new producer, because they could communicate quickly by transferring data from one computer to another. That was one of the directions we went in."
Although they recorded some things live and part of the repertoire emerged from improvisations among the band members, the technological aspect dominated the recording sessions and, ultimately, the aesthetic result of the sound. Superstition has its defenders, but it is usually the predictable target of the fiercest criticism in the Siouxsie and the Banshees catalog, being less conditioned by a dominant musical trend than in the pre-internet era and more accustomed to listening to everything at any time, it's less appealing to dismiss Superstition—once again—as bland and tasteless than to contextualize it and appreciate its strengths. If there was something wrong on the album, if there was one, wasn't taking the direction chosen by Stephen Hague, but rather not being able to fully trust it and discarding the more rock-oriented songs that couldn't thrive with this approach.
Besides being the most uneven of the bunch in terms of composition, formulaic simplicity like "Cry", "Got To Get Up", and "Silly Thing" dilutes all their intended power into a sound so docile and artificial that it even sounds childish. Superstition has another, completely different and more fortunate facet, proof that, stripped of its shortcomings, the most beautiful piece for many in the repertoire, "Softly", had an undeniable air of the compositions that Angelo Badalamenti wrote for David Lynch's muse, with Siouxsie exhaling the notes, giving them the shape of striped snow, which only manages to sway on the breeze of a glacial keyboard and cello, surrounding her without ever reaching the ground. Excellent dreamlike nuances also adorned "Drifter" – which unfolded in a more somber atmosphere – and the anguished nocturnal feel of "Little Sister", while the melodic weight makes "The Ghost In You" was so melancholic and beautiful, "Shadowtime" a crystalline layered pop, displaying an elegant impetus tune, and the classic "Kiss Them For Me."
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