Hyæna

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title: "Hyæna" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1984-albums", "siouxsie-and-the-banshees-albums", "albums-produced-by-mike-hedges", "polydor-records-albums", "geffen-records-albums"] description: "1984 studio album by Siouxsie and the Banshees" topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyæna" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1984 studio album by Siouxsie and the Banshees ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox album"]

Field	Value
name	Hyæna
type	studio
artist	Siouxsie and the Banshees
cover	Siouxsie_&_the_Banshees-Hyaena.jpg
released	8 June 1984
recorded	June 1983 – March 1984
studio	*Angel, London
genre
length	44:15
label	{{flatlist
producer	{{flatlist
prev_title	Nocturne
prev_year	1983
next_title	The Thorn
next_year	1984
misc	{{Extra chronology
artist	Siouxsie Sioux
type	studio
prev_title	Feast
the Creatures
prev_year	1983
title	Hyæna
year	1984
next_title	The Thorn
next_year	1984
name	Hyæna
type	studio
single1	Swimming Horses
single1date	16 March 1984
single2	Dazzle
single2date	25 May 1984
::

| name = Hyæna | type = studio | artist = Siouxsie and the Banshees | cover = Siouxsie_&_the_Banshees-Hyaena.jpg | alt = | released = 8 June 1984 | recorded = June 1983 – March 1984 | venue = | studio = *Angel, London

• Eel Pie, London
• Power Plant, London
• Europa Film, Stockholm | genre = | length = 44:15 | label = {{flatlist|
• Polydor
• Geffen (US) | producer = {{flatlist|
• Siouxsie and the Banshees
• Mike Hedges | prev_title = Nocturne | prev_year = 1983 | next_title = The Thorn | next_year = 1984 | misc = {{Extra chronology | artist = Siouxsie Sioux | type = studio | prev_title = Feast the Creatures | prev_year = 1983 | title = Hyæna | year = 1984 | next_title = The Thorn | next_year = 1984 | name = Hyæna | type = studio | single1 = Swimming Horses | single1date = 16 March 1984 | single2 = Dazzle | single2date = 25 May 1984 Hyæna is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released on 8 June 1984 by Polydor Records. The opening track, "Dazzle", featured strings played by musicians of the London Symphonic Orchestra (LSO), 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 signed to reissue the rest of the band's catalogue. Before that, "Dear Prudence" had become the band's highest-peaking single in the UK, reaching number 3 in September of the previous year. The song, initially released as a stand-alone single in Europe, was issued in North America in May 1984. Consequently, it was finally added to the track listing of the US 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

| rev1 = AllMusic | rev1Score = Upon release, Melody Maker wrote a favourable review: "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.... You can get impressed, wrapped up and lost in this'".

In his retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Cook gave Hyæna a 4.5 out of 5-star rating and wrote: "The emphasis here is on layered arrangements and pop tunes disguised as art-house production numbers ("Dazzle"); 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". The Rolling Stone Album Guide gave a 3 out of 5 rating saying that Smith brought a "surprisingly disciplined influence" to the band, which they recognised in the album's "best cuts: the liquid-mercury 'Dazzle', the sparse 'Swimming Horses', and a lushly appointed cover of the Beatles' 'Dear Prudence'".

When the album was reissued, The Quietus praised it saying: "[It was] 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 [sic] 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... Banshees records... where everything starts with the drums". Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai selected "Dazzle" when curating a collection of "cinematic music" for BBC radio, saying "this record is so kind of epic and huge".

Track listing

All music is composed by Siouxsie and the Banshees (Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, Budgie and Robert Smith) except "Belladonna" (Siouxsie, Severin and Budgie). | headline = Side one | title1 = Dazzle | length1 = 5:30 | lyrics1 = Siouxsie Sioux | title2 = We Hunger | lyrics2 = Siouxsie | length2 = 3:31 | title3 = Take Me Back | lyrics3 = Siouxsie | length3 = 3:03 | title4 = Belladonna | lyrics4 = Steven Severin | length4 = 4:30 | title5 = Swimming Horses | lyrics5 = Siouxsie | length5 = 4:06 | headline = Side two | title6 = Bring Me the Head of the Preacher Man | lyrics6 = Severin | length6 = 4:37 | title7 = Running Town | lyrics7 = Siouxsie | length7 = 4:04 | title8 = Pointing Bone | lyrics8 = Severin | length8 = 3:49 | title9 = Blow the House Down | lyrics9 = Siouxsie | length9 = 6:59

| all_writing = | headline = US version | title1 = Dazzle | title2 = We Hunger | title3 = Take Me Back | title4 = Belladonna | title5 = Swimming Horses | title6 = Dear Prudence | lyrics6 = Lennon–McCartney | music6 = Lennon–McCartney | title7 = Bring Me the Head of the Preacher Man | title8 = Running Town | title9 = Pointing Bone | title10 = Blow the House Down

| headline = 2009 CD remastered issue bonus tracks | title10 = Dear Prudence | lyrics10 = Lennon–McCartney | music10 = Lennon–McCartney | title11 = Dazzle | note11=12" Glamour mix | title12 = Baby Piano (Part 1) | title13 = Baby Piano (Part 2)

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.

Personnel

;Siouxsie and the Banshees

• Siouxsie Sioux – vocals
• Steven Severin – electric bass, keyboards
• Budgie – drums, percussion, marimba
• Robert Smith – guitars, keyboards

Additional personnel

• Robin Canter – woodwind
• The Chandos Players – strings
• Mike Hedges – production, engineering
• David Kemp – engineering assistance
• Frank Barretta – engineering assistance
• Siouxsie and the Banshees – production

Charts

::data[format=table title="Chart performance for ''Hyæna''"] | Chart (1984) | Peak position | Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) | European Albums (Music & Media) | US Billboard 200 | |---|---|---|---|---| | 98 | | | | | | 64 | | | | | | 157 | | | | | ::

References

References

1. Billy Chainsaw. "Phase Three Issues Three & Four". ''The Siouxsie and the Banshees File [Official magazine]''. 1984.
2. Billy Chainsaw. "Phase Three Issue Two". ''The Siouxsie and the Banshees File [Official magazine]''. 1984.
3. Brian Johns (1989). Entranced: the Siouxsie and the Banshees story. Omnibus Press. {{ISBN. 0-7119-1773-6.
4. "Awards Billboard Siouxsie and the Banshees". [[AllMusic]].
5. Steve Sutherland. "Pedigree Chums [''Hyæna'' review]". [[Melody Maker]].
6. Stephen Cook. "Hyaena – Siouxsie and the Banshees". [[AllMusic]].
7. (2004). "[[The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]". Simon & Schuster.
8. Marszalek, Julian. (10 April 2009). "Siouxsie & the Banshees reissues: A kiss in the Dreamhouse, Nocturne, Hyaena, Tinderbox".
9. "Some Current Fascinations". brettanderson.co.uk.
10. Price, Simon. (2 June 2016). "And If You Need An Explanation: Manic Street Preachers interviewed".
11. (25 February 2025). "Mogwai In The Frame Mogwai". BBC 6 Radio.
12. "''Hyaena'' Siouxsie and the Banshees [Original issue]". Polydor – 821 510-1. 1984. "All songs Dreamhouse / Chappell / A.p.b. except 'Belladonna' – Dreamhouse / Chappell [Picture label notes]".
    "''Hyaena'' Siouxsie and the Banshees [Vinyl reissue]". Polydor – SATBLP08S. 2019. "All tracks published by – Chrysalis Music Limited / Domino Publishing Company Limited / Fiction Songs Limited except 'Belladonna' – Chrysalis / Domino [Picture label notes]".
13. Kent, David. (1993). "Australian Chart Book 1970–1992". Australian Chart Book.
14. (18 June 1984). "European Top 100 Albums".
15. "Siouxsie & the Banshees Chart History (Billboard 200)".

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