Siouxsie and the Banshees

The Banshees' debut singles remain as fresh and vital as when they were initially released. The first five cuts are as catchy as they are uncompromising, but starting with "Happy House," "Christine," and the remaining tracks, Siouxsie and co. provide twisted pop bliss for romantic punks, aged acid causalities, and anyone with a black T-shirt.

Like Jim Morrison, greatest of the pop posers, Siouxsie Pseud disguises the banality of her exoticism with psychedelic gimmicks most profitably consumed at their hookiest, and voila. Although two of the four unavailable-on-album 45s on this compilation go nowhere, most of these nightmare vignettes are diverting placebos, of a piece even though they span three years of putative artistic development. (Grade - B+)