Mantaray
by Siouxsie

Album details

US: 2 October 2007 on Decca
UK: 10 September 2007 on W14

Thirty years into her career, "Mantaray" marks the very first solo release for the former frontwoman of Siouxsie And The Banshees and The Creatures. Steve Evans and Charlie Jones handled the production and much of the writing.

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The critical consensus

With such a vast back catalogue to choose from, you would expect a lot of comparisons popping up in reviews, and you’d be right. All Music Guide, for example, concludes that "Siouxsie on Mantaray resembles nothing in her past so much as the 1991 Banshees album Superstition, a sometimes thrilling but at points compromised experimentation with already well-worn dance styles." What makes comparisons to past albums difficult, however, is how different the new album is; nearly every critic calls attention to how varied–and how un-Banshees-like–Mantaray’s sound is. (Note all the Shirley Bassey comparisons, for example.) Drowned In Sound, among others, hears a dramatic break with Siouxsie’s past, calling Mantaray "one of the most ambitious debut solo records of recent times" even while noting that it is much more pop-oriented than her previous efforts. The Guardian agrees that "Sioux has never sounded quite like this," with the various new styles on display presenting "something for everybody." Gigwise also hears a break from her darker, more aggressive past, but suggests that Siouxsie goes too far in the other direction, veering too far into cabaret territory and "constantly sounding like she is gunning to pen the new James Bond theme tune."

Cokemachineglow declares that "Siouxsie is still as bewitching and bewildering as ever," and Hot Press notes that while Mantaray has its weaknesses, "after thirty years she’s still twice as interesting as three people half her age." Stylus admires the album’s atmosphere of "playful freedom" and its more open and personal subject matter. Pitchfork finds it a successful, though not groundbreaking, release, and MusicOMH concludes that Mantaray is "an album filled with singles that should be instant hits."

Even when the songs fail to match the sense of excitement, this spirited energy is good reason to warm to this record.

- Victoria Segal, Mojo

Review roundup

Tracklisting and media

1. Into a Swan
   
   
2. About To Happen
3. Here Comes That Day
4. Loveless
5. If It Doesn’t Kill You
6. One Mile Below
7. Drone Zone
8. Sea Of Tranquility
9. They Follow You
10. Heaven And Alchemy

Also on the web

• Official Artist Site