Daily Mail (2.19.99)

Siouxsie back with a bang

THE CREATURES: Anima Animus (Sioux Records) Verdict: Siouxsie goes underground

SIOUXSIE SIOUX, one of punk's most abrasive outsiders when she launched the Banshees in the Seventies, returns to the pop fringes with The Creatures, a beat-based duo, featuring drummer and husband Budgie.

Created in the Eighties as a Banshees offshoot, the Creatures are now Sioux's sole outlet.

While close in spirit to the alternative rock of the Banshees, the band have successfully embraced the electronic rhythms and trip-hop moods of the Nineties.

Anima Animus, their third album, eschews screaming guitars in favour of throbbing synths.

Tom toms and marimbas give a polyrhythmic backing. Sioux is in excellent voice on brash tracks such as Turn It On, while revealing a sensitive side on Another Planet. She adopts the inaccessible style of PJ Harvey on Prettiest Thing, but is ultimately more effective when working closer to the pop mainstream.

Contributed by Jerry Burch.