Siouxsie & The Banshees - Happy House (Demo) (1980)

Harder, early version of one of Siouxsie and the Banshees' finest moments.

Spiralling guitar and thumping drums present and correct, just less spangle and polish than the version that ended up on the 'Kaleidoscope' album and as a single.

Edgy and direct, this is Siouxsie and the Banshees at their frantic, twitchy, bewitching best.

Download Siouxsie & The Banshees 'Happy House (Demo)' (indie, alternative, Goth, Post-Punk mp3) (Mediafire)

Siouxsie & The Banshees 'Cities In Dust (12" Extended Eruption Mix)' (Polydor, 1985)

Shimmering, swirling piece of prime Banshees. Extended.

Classic Banshees, from their great 'Tinderbox' album.

I was a bit late to see how original and important Siouxsie and the Banshees were in combining rhythm, melody and moodiness. I can hear their influence in everyone from The xx to The Horrors to Blouse.

Great stuff.

Download Siouxsie & The Banshees 'Cities In Dust (12" Extended Eruption Mix)' (post-punk mp3 download) (Mediafire)

Cranes 'Tomorrow's Tears' (Dedicated, 1991)

Gorgeous, piano-led, gently gothic track with spiralling melody and aching melancholy.

The only tricky thing about Cranes was getting past Alison Shaw's little-girl-ghost-stuck-down-a-well vocal style. It's an acquired taste but - especially on this track - offsets the music's delightfully rococo melodies really nicely.

'Tomorrow's Tears' was a single from their 'Wings Of Joy' album and balanced echoes of Shoegaze with 'Pearly Dewdrops Drops'-era Cocteau Twins. There's also some deep, brown piano work that wouldn't out of place on David Sylvian's 'Secrets Of The Beehive' album.

Beautiful.

Download Cranes 'Tomorrow's Tears' (gothic, indie alternative mp3) (Mediafire)