Hyæna is the sixth studio album by British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released in June 8, 1984 by Polydor. The opening track, “Dazzle”, featured strings played by musicians of the (LSO) 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 signed to reissue the rest of the band’s catalog. Prior to that, Dear Prudence had become the band’s biggest hit 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.
Tracklist:
- Dazzle
- We Hunger
- Take Me Back
- Belladonna
- Swimming Horses
- Bring Me The Head Of The Preacher Man
- Running Town
- Pointing Bone
- Blow The House Down
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
