Tinderbox
release date: Apr. 21, 1986
format: vinyl (SHELP 3) / cd (2009 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Siouxsie and the Banshees
label: Polydor / Wonderland - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Candyman" - 2. "The Sweetest Chill" - 4. "Cities in Dust" (4 / 5) (live on The Old Grey Whistle Test) - 5. "Cannons" - 6. "Party's Fall" - 8. "Land's End" (live on The Old Grey Whistle Test) - *10. "The Sweetest Chill (Chris Kimsey 12" Remix)" - *11. "Song From the Edge of the World (JVC Version)" - *12. "Starcrossed (demo)"
*Bonus track on 2009 remaster
7th studio album by Siouxsie & The Banshees (as the band is stylized here) (SATB), following nearly full two years after Hyaena (Jun. 1984), which saw the band among other things having to find a suitable replacement for guitarist Robert Smith, who ultimately found it too challenging to be engaged in several groups and finally chose to concentrate fully on his brain-child, The Cure. Smith was eventually replaced by John Valentine Carruthers, who first features on the The Thorn EP (Oct. 1984).
The guitar has always played a special part in the music by SATB, which means there's a natural audible change on the album here. It's not so much that the guitar sound has disappeared, but to a larger extent that the album makes more room for other instruments. Severin's bass has gained more volume and Budgie's drums also uphold a significant position in a soundscape that is particularly characterised by the use of strings: violins, cellos, and keyboards simulating similar instrumentation - all of which emphasises a certain chamber pop feel and for the most part: a distinct art pop style on all compositions. It's not a ground-breaking newfound sound as such, but it's certainly a new foundation, and that's how it's always been with this band. Each new album has its own touch and Tinderbox is generally beautifully produced.
The album garnered positive reviews and landed at number #13 on the UK albums chart, possibly thanks to two singles preceding the album. The first single "Cities in Dust" was released already in Oct. '85 and it got a great deal of airtime on MTV and it peaked at No. #21 on the singles list. The song presents a distinctly stronger dance-friendly style as alt. dance / dance pop, which is why it found a spot at number #17 on the US Dance Club Songs chart. The second single "Candyman" was released in Feb. '86 and charted at number #34.
"Cities in Dust" is a fine, strong and iconic track that fits the band's distinctive profile perfectly, whereas the album doesn't quite reach the level of Hyaena. "Land's End" is a super-nice progressive and unconventional composition with focus on Severin's fretless bass and Budgie's skills as equilibrist percussionist - something that may also be heard on several other tracks on an album that has also found room for a few fillers. Still, Tinderbox is a thoroughly solid album both proving Carruthers as a sublime guitarist and at the same time demonstrates that SATB still have great musical potential and still are capable of the difficult task of evolving.
The front cover reproduces a photograph of a tornado taken by Lucille Handberg near the town of Jasper, Minnesota, Jul. 8, 1927. It's a classic image, which previously served as the cover of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew (1970) and for Deep Purple's Stormbringer (1974).
The 2009 remaster comes with four bonus tracks - two remix versions, and two non-album tracks, which are quite fine compositions.
Recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]
