Hyæna is the sixth studio album by British rock bandSiouxsie and the Banshees, released in 1984. The opening track, "Dazzle", featured strings played by musicians of the London Symphonic Orchestra, a 27-piece orchestra called the "Chandos Players"; it was scored from a tune that Siouxsie Sioux had composed on piano. Hyæna is the only studio album that guitarist Robert Smith of the Cure composed and recorded with Siouxsie and the Banshees. In the United States, Hyæna was the first Banshees studio album to be released on Geffen Records, which also reissued the rest of the band's catalog. Prior to that, "Dear Prudence" became the band's biggest hit in the UK, reaching No. 3 in September of the previous year. The song was intended to be a stand-alone single in Europe; however, as it was issued as a single in North America later in May 1984, it was finally added to the track listing of the American album version. Hyæna was the first Siouxsie and the Banshees album to enter the Billboard 200 in the US. Hyæna was reissued on CD in a remastered, expanded edition in 2009. A 180 gram 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 December 2018.
Critical reception and legacy
The album was mainly well received upon release. Melody Maker wrote: "Parts of it are so wistfully carefree that it's impossible not to credit Robert Smith as the talisman – his irreverence seems to course through everything. 'Take Me Back' is the Banshees rollicking like some primitive jazz combo drunk on the Good Lord's wine. On 'Belladonna', Smith's liquid guitar relaxes Sioux to the extent that she drops a few masks to reveal her vulnerability. When the siren sings 'daylight devours your unguarded hours', she's illuminating her own predicament so acutely it surely can't be coincidence. 'Dazzle', too, is naively daring: Siouxsie's voice, framed alone against the firmament of strings. It could be Lloyd Webber's Cats or something by Vaughn Williams. You can get impressed, wrapped up and lost in this'". In his retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Cook gave Hyæna a 4.5-star rating and wrote: "The emphasis here is on layered arrangements and pop tunes disguised as art-house production numbers ; tasteful horn and keyboard parts expand the group's guitar-dominated sound and provide Siouxsie with an airy and dreamlike backdrop in which to fully display her considerable vocal talents". When the album was reissued, The Quietus said: " their most experimental work, Smith's presence is keenly felt on the disciplined execution of the grandiose 'Dazzle' or the starkly seductive 'Swimming Horses'. But the real treasures were buried deep within the album. The lysergic Spaghetti Western twang of 'Bring Me The Head of the Preacher Man' is evocative in its execution while the densely epic 'Blow The House Down' finds Smith indelibly stamping his mark on the track courtesy of some his finest guitar work". Hyæna was namechecked by Brett Anderson, the singer of Suede. James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers hired producer Hedges because he loved the sound on lead single "Swimming Horses". Bradfield stated: "Swimming Horses' by the Banshees – what a fucking record that is! I remember thinking 'You really care about that record. I'm gonna have to chase that record down." He also mentioned the importance of the drums: "I loved and Banshees records where everything starts with the drums".
Track listing
The two "Baby Piano" instrumental tracks are, respectively, a short piano demo of "Dazzle" and the string backing to the album version of the song.
