A Kiss in the Dreamhouse

A Kiss in the Dreamhouse is the fifth studio album by British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released on 5 November 1982 by Polydor Records. The record marked a change of musical direction, as the group used strings for the first time and experimented in the studio. Guitarist John McGeoch played more instruments, including recorder and piano. For Julian Marszalek of The Quietus, the release proved the Banshees to be "one of the great British psychedelic bands."[1]

A Kiss in the Dreamhouse
Studio album by
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Released5 November 1982
RecordedJune–August, 1982
StudioPlayground, Camden Town and Abbey Road, England
Genre
Length37:45
LabelPolydor
Geffen (1984 US release)
ProducerSiouxsie and the Banshees
Siouxsie and the Banshees chronology
Juju
(1981)		 A Kiss in the Dreamhouse
(1982)		 Hyæna
(1984)
Siouxsie Sioux chronology
Wild Things
the Creatures
(1981)		 A Kiss in the Dreamhouse
(1982)		 Feast
the Creatures
(1983)
Singles from A Kiss in the Dreamhouse
  1. "Slowdive"
    Released: 4 October 1982
  2. "Melt!"
    Released: 26 November 1982

Both a critical and commercial success, A Kiss in the Dreamhouse peaked at No. 11 on the UK Albums Chart.[2] In August 2007 it was ranked No. 1 on Mojo magazine's list of the best albums of 1982.[3] A 180g vinyl reissue of the album, remastered from the original ¼” tapes and cut half-speed at Abbey Road Studios by Miles Showell, was released in September 2018.

Background, production and music

The band held back from writing after the success of 1981's Juju. During the spring of 1982, they went on tour in Scandinavia with three tracks completed: "Cascade", "Painted Bird" and "Green Fingers". When they returned to the studio in July, the group embarked on a week of improvisation sparked off by a tape-looped section of the orchestral version of "Fireworks", a non-album single they had released in May. Other numbers followed easily.[4] Siouxsie didn't want to use synthesizers for the arrangements:

"Fireworks" indicated the direction we wanted for the album. We wanted strings [...] John [McGeoch] wanted a machine but Steven [Severin] and I said it had to be real strings. They give a real, earthy, rich sound. You could hear the strings spitting and breathing and wheezing. Me and Steve have always wanted our music to be performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. We've always thought our songs would suit orchestration. Real strings have a very physical sound".[5]

A Kiss in the Dreamhouse was the first album on which the Banshees really exploited the possibilities of the studio.[5] They allowed themselves to be inspired by sounds.[5] Engineer Mike Hedges, who was interested in vocals, put different effects on Siouxsie's voice and multi-layered it.[6] Hedges also encouraged them to fiddle with effects; if the band came up with something off-the-wall, he'd want to top it.[7]

According to the band, A Kiss in the Dreamhouse was probably their most experimental work.[7] The album contains recorders, chimes, tubular bells, loops and many vocal overdubs. Consequence of Sound described the album as the band's "own form of neo-psychedelic rock."[8]

The personal dynamics associated with the period in which A Kiss in the Dreamhouse was recorded were often less than healthy. The band's recently fired manager and Siouxsie's former partner, Nils Stevenson, had become obsessive in response to her developing relationship with Budgie. The band spent long hours in the studio, fuelled by drink and drugs. According to Uncut writer Garry Mulholland, the "stunningly beautiful music" of Dreamhouse was "a product of addiction, stress, old, sick love and new, dangerous love, money woes and a darkness that would eventually claim three lives".[9]

Title and artwork
Danaë (1907) by Gustav Klimt. The artwork was based on Klimt's work.

The title of A Kiss in the Dreamhouse came to Severin after watching a programme about Hollywood prostitutes in the 1940s who had cosmetic surgery to look like stars, so they could get more clients.[7] The "Dreamhouse" was a brothel in Los Angeles that actually existed where people could meet perfect replicas of the stars of the time, women like Mae West.[5]

The quote in the inner sleeve, "Nellie the Elephant packed his trunk and said goodbye to the circus", referred to longtime former manager Stevenson (nicknamed "Nellie"), who was fired before the recording of the album.[7]

The album's artwork was inspired by the paintings of Gustav Klimt. As the Banshees achieved the richness they desired, they wanted "a really colourful sleeve with lots of gold and deep colours because we felt the music was very rich".[5]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Melody Makervery favourable[11]
NMEvery favourable[12]
The Quietusvery favourable[1]

The UK music press was unanimous in its praise for the album on its release. NME's Richard Cook considered it innovative:

A Kiss in the Dreamhouse is a feat of imagination scarcely ever recorded. It's breathtaking. Somehow, a bold assurance of intention has met with a hunger for experimenting with sound to expand an already formidable group of songs into pure, open-minded ambiguity. The flesh of the song will balloon out or contort into unimaginable patterns; indecipherable echoes volley between the walls of the recording; glassy, splintered tones pierce the luxuriant sheen of the mix. Repeated listens trick the sense of balance; tremendous risks are taken.[12]

Cook finished his review by saying, "I promise. This music will take your breath away".[12] Paul Du Noyer wrote that A Kiss in the Dreamhouse was "a real departure from rock tradition" and "maybe even their best [album]".[13] The album was ranked at No. 11 in the NME top "Albums of the Year" for 1982, with "Slowdive" ranked among the year's top 50 tracks.[14]

Melody Maker's Steve Sutherland also welcomed the new musical direction: "The Banshees achieve an awesome, effective new pop without so much as a theory or qualm. Dreamhouse is an intoxicating achievement".[11] Critic David Cleary of AllMusic would later describe the single "Slowdive" as "a violin-colored dance beat number", with "a catchy melodic hook away from being the real thing", and positively assessed the album, saying, "This fine platter is well worth purchasing".[10]

In 2006, music historian Garry Mulholland included it in his book Fear of Music about the 261 greatest albums since 1976.[15]

In their 2009 review of the reissued album, The Quietus wrote: "The result was their most colourful and – ahem – kaleidoscopic collection yet".[1] Critic Julian Marszalek commented that the album's music is "fundamentally pop, yet unafraid to revel in a quirkiness born of altered states. A deliberate shift from the overt darkness of its predecessor, Juju".[1] Marszalek qualified the work of guitarist McGeoch as "a seamless beauty", and wrote that "Siouxsie's voice achieves a sense of strength and maturity".[1] The journalist concluded the review by noting that "Siouxsie and the Banshees weren't afraid to stretch themselves. Here was a band that dared to challenge itself as much as their listeners".[1]

Legacy

Several bands later covered and sampled songs from this album. LCD Soundsystem released a version of "Slowdive" as the B-side to their single "Disco Infiltrator"; it was also included on their Introns compilation in 2006. The Beta Band sampled the live Nocturne version of "Painted Bird" on their track "Liquid Bird", issued on their 2003 album Heroes to Zeros.[16]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Siouxsie Sioux, except where noted; all music is composed by Siouxsie and the Banshees (Sioux, Steven Severin, John McGeoch, Budgie).

Side one
No.TitleLyricsLength
1."Cascade"Severin4:25
2."Green Fingers" 3:33
3."Obsession" 3:51
4."She's a Carnival"Severin3:39
5."Circle" 5:22
Side two
No.TitleLyricsLength
6."Melt!"Severin3:47
7."Painted Bird" 4:15
8."Cocoon" 4:29
9."Slowdive" 4:24
2009 CD remastered reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLyricsLength
10."Fireworks" (12" version)Severin4:32
11."Slowdive" (12" version) 5:49
12."Painted Bird" (Workhouse demo) 3:49
13."Cascade" (Workhouse demo)Severin4:32

Personnel

Siouxsie and the Banshees

  • Siouxsie Sioux – vocals, bells on "Obsession", production
  • Steven Severin – bass guitar, six-string bass guitar on "Slowdive", organ on "Painted Bird", production
  • John McGeoch – guitar, keyboards on "Cocoon", "Circle" and "Cascade", recorder on "Green Fingers", production
  • Budgie – drums, percussion, harmonica on "Slowdive", production

Additional personnel

  • Caroline Lavelle – cello on "Obsession"
  • Alison Briggs – cello on "Obsession"
  • Anne Stephenson – violin on "Obsession" and "Slowdive"
  • Virginia Hewes – violin on "Obsession" and "Slowdive"

Production and artwork

  • Mike Hedges – engineering
  • Rocking Russian – sleeve design
  • Michael Kostiff – sleeve photography and set
gollark: I mean, both are roughly circumstances outside your control.
gollark: People who were coerced/tricked into violent conflict are bad but people who randomly ended up with a discriminated against ethnicity/whatever aren't?
gollark: You can't just arbitrarily allocate months to your cause. Complaining that other people have a month you want is an important part of attaining them.
gollark: Actually, quantifying things good, according to my arbitrary preferences.
gollark: Actual data, while prone to bees, is generally better than rhetoric or "common sense" (guessing and confirmation bias).

References
  1. Marszalek, Julian (10 April 2009). "Siouxsie & the Banshees reissues A Kiss in the Dreamhouse Nocturne Hyaena Tinderbox". The Quietus. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  2. "Siouxsie & the Banshees [uk charts]". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  3. "80 From The 80’s". Mojo. August 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2012
  4. Steve Sutherland. "Fireworks expected in Siouxsie's Dream House". Melody Maker. 14 August 1982
  5. Cooper, Mark. "Let's Get Physical". Record Mirror. 18 December 82
  6. Paytress, Mark. p.120
  7. Paytress, Mark. p.124
  8. Lopez, Samantha (8 October 2019). "10 Goth-Rock Albums Every Music Fan Should Own". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  9. Mulholland, Garry (November 2012). "Siouxsie and the Banshees: "We were losing our minds"". uncut.co.uk. Time Inc. (UK) Ltd.
  10. Cleary, David. "A Kiss in the Dreamhouse – Siouxsie and the Banshees". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  11. Sutherland, Steve (6 November 1982). "Awakening Dreams [A Kiss in the Dreamhouse - review]". Melody Maker.
  12. Cook, Richard (6 November 1982). "A kiss in the Dreamhouse review". NME. Rock's Backpages (subscription required). Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  13. Du Noyer, Paul (4 December 1982). "Spectacular Siouxsie [Concert review]". NME.
  14. "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  15. Mulholland, Garry (2006). Fear of Music: The Greatest 261 Albums Since Punk and Disco. Orion. ISBN 0-7528-6831-4.
  16. Lapatine, Scott (April 2004). "The Beta Band Interviews and Articles". Earlash. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2012. EL: On previous albums, you've used some left-field samples as a jumping off point to do something new and original. JM: Yeah, we've got Siouxsie and the Banshees on this record. It was Robin's idea.
Sources
  • Mulholland, Garry. A Kiss in the Dreamhouse, Uncut, November 2012, pp 16–21
  • Paytress, Mark. Siouxsie & the Banshees: The Authorised Biography. Sanctuary, 2003. ISBN 1-86074-375-7
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