"Cities in Dust" is a dance-rock and dance-pop song. The song describes the city of Pompeii, destroyed in a volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Imagery describing the volcano and its magma chamber, the condition of the victims of the eruption, and the subsequent discovery and excavation of the city comprises the bulk of the lyrics. The lyrics mention a shrine to Lares Familiares.
Reception
"Cities in Dust" peaked at No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart. Although not Siouxsie and the Banshees' first song to enter the US Hot Dance/Disco chart, it was their first significant success, climbing to No. 17. Spin hailed the group for creating "this intoxicating wonderful commercial dance record without losing their edge". Reviewer John Leland said, "In a month of good dance rock records, this is the best", and noted that it was "full bodied, dense, with layers of chugging funk guitars, toy piano, and various electronic things". He concluded with praise for Siouxsie's performance: "It's rare these days to find a full production job that draws its identity from the voice". In 2011, singer Brett Anderson of Suede cited "Cities in Dust" as one of his favourite songs.
Siouxsie and the Banshees are seen performing the song in the 1986 movie Out of Bounds, and the song appears on the soundtrack album. The song was featured in the 1997 film Grosse Pointe Blank, the 2017 spy filmAtomic Blonde and its soundtrack, and the 2018 second season of the Netflix teen drama series 13 Reasons Why and its soundtrack. The song featured in the final credits of episode 9 of the second season of the sitcom The Marvellous Mrs Maisel. It also appears at the beginning of the eighth episode of the third season of GLOW. Scenes from the promo video are seen in Brazilian film Califórnia, written and directed by Marina Person, released in December 2015. The plot takes place in 1985.
Cover versions
recorded a version on their album Daqui Pro Futuro. "Cities in Dust" was covered live by the Start during numerous concerts in 2007 and 2008. Anna Nalick also performed it live. A cover by electronic artist Junkie XL was released as a single in 2008, and included on the Booming Back at You album; the soundtrack for the racing video gameBurnout Paradise and the compilation albumOMFGG – Original Music Featured on Gossip Girl No. 1. A cover version by the Everlove was used in the trailers for the 2012 video game ; that cover was also featured in a 2014 trailer for the fourth season of the HBO series Game of Thrones.
