Bangles - The Queens of the Paisley Underground

Led by Susanna Hoffs (guitar) and sisters Vicki (guitar) and Debbi (drums) Peterson, later joined by ex-Runaways member Michael Steele (bass), the Bangles were the most successful all-female band of the Eighties. Alongside the early R.E.M., they brought back into vogue the Byrdsian jangle-pop and Californian folk-rock of the Sixties. Their debut album, All Over The Place, is a genuine little gem of the Paisley Underground, the Los Angeles scene they came from, showcasing their retro style, with ever-present Rickenbacker guitars and graceful vocal harmonies harking back to the great West Coast tradition. With their second album, Different Light, the Bangles veered toward a pleasant, radio-friendly pop-rock, nostalgic in tone yet upbeat. Singles like "Manic Monday" and "Walk Like An Egyptian" went around the world, turning them into stars. The fame they achieved, however, left its mark: the other members grew jealous of the media attention lavished on Susanna Hoffs (who lends her very distinctive voice to almost all of the Bangles' best-known songs), also seen as the band's main visual draw. Before splitting up at the end of the decade, the Californians still had time to send another song ("Eternal Flame", from third album Everything) to number one on the charts. Today unfairly remembered only for their hits, the Bangles - who belong to that select circle of rock bands in which every member sings - reunited in the early 2000s, though without managing to recapture past glories. This is the story of four girls who grew up under the California sun, dreaming of becoming the female answer to the Fab Four.

We were trying to recapture that sound and spirit that had been popular before the arrival of stadium rock, which had defined the Seventies. A simpler, purer sound. We weren't the only band doing that: in America there were also R.E.M., and in Britain the Smiths.

(Susanna Hoffs)

The origins

The Peterson sisters take their first steps in the San Fernando Valley. Vicki, the elder of the two, is a precocious guitarist who starts writing music at the age of just 9. She loves the Beatles and the Hollies above all else, and her first band is meant to be a female version of Simon & Garfunkel. From early on she practices with her younger sister Debbi, far calmer and quieter than her, perfecting vocal harmonies, both inspired by the masters of folk-rock. "Vicki was always the popular one," Debbi recalls. "I wanted so badly to be part of one of her bands that one day I told her: 'I'll do anything, even play the drums.'"

In 1980 the Peterson sisters move to Hollywood and finally make contact with the local punk and new wave scene, which at the time makes it considerably easier for aspiring female musicians to break into rock's male-dominated world. These are the years dominated by charismatic figures such as Debbie Harry, Siouxsie Sioux, Chrissie Hynde, Poly Styrene, Lene Lovich, Nina Hagen, Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads, but also entirely (or mostly) female bands such as the Slits, the Raincoats or the emerging Go-Go's, who had moved past that tendency to emulate men at all costs, which had limited, for example, the Runaways. The times are, in short, ripe for an all-female band to be taken more seriously within the rock community.

One person to notice this is also a lively young woman of Jewish descent, a well-mannered aspiring dancer, daughter of a psychoanalyst and a painter (and director): Susanna Hoffs. She grew up in California, in a stimulating, intellectual environment, within an open-minded, progressive family that encouraged her to become an artist. She too is obsessed with the typical sixties sound: fascinated by hippie culture, with an unbridled passion for bands like the Beatles, the Byrds and the Monkees (later she would also discover Patti Smith and the Velvet Underground). She picks up her first guitar at age 4 and spends her free time singing and playing in her bedroom, practicing above all with Joni Mitchell songs.

To me, rock'n'roll means sitting alone in your own room, listening to the stereo or playing guitar or any other instrument. It's something strictly personal and intimate.

(Susanna Hoffs)

Susanna founds her first band, the Psychiatrists, with future Rain Parade and Mazzy Star member David Roback, her boyfriend at the time. After earning an art degree at Berkeley, she moves to Los Angeles and places ads in the papers, looking for members for her new band. She can hardly believe it when, by sheer fluke, she finds the Peterson sisters, with whom she shares the same musical passions ("It was incredible, we loved the same bands, like Arthur Lee's Love, the Grass Roots or Buffalo Springfield"). The chemistry between the three is instant, even though the Peterson sisters had a background as good Catholic girls, in total contrast with the free, independent upbringing Hoffs had had.

They practice in the garage of Susanna's house ("White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane is the first song they play together), but in the meantime they also hold other jobs: Sue works in a jewelry factory, Vicki and Debbi at an art museum.

In December 1980 the Colours are born, their name soon changed to Supersonic Bangs and finally shortened to Bangs. Another Californian joins the fledgling band, bassist of Lithuanian descent Annette Zilinskas. Susanna and Vicki both play guitar (rhythm for the former, lead for the latter) and sing most of the songs; Debbi, on drums, contributes backing vocals. The Bangs soon start playing the local clubs, in a period of major musical ferment. Los Angeles had already seen all-female outfits like the Runaways and the Go-Go's, not to mention a standout figure like Exene Cervenka, singer of X, who had just released their incendiary - the word truly fits - debut album. The Bangs, however, are different from their contemporaries: they have fewer ties to punk and new wave, are more rooted in traditional folk-rock, and don't seem interested in replaying a feminist brand of hard rock in the style of Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Cheri Currie & co.

We played in horrible dives, places good girls would never have set foot in.

(Vicki Peterson)

Sixties Revival, But Not Only

Their first single, "Getting Out Of Hand/Call On Me", costs the Bangs 800 dollars, sells a thousand copies and earns them their first TV appearances. The debut 45 is promoted by every possible means by influential Californian disc jockey Rodney Bingenheimer, to whom the girls will always remain eternally grateful. In 1981 the Bangs catch the attention of Miles Copeland, already manager of the Police (as well as brother of drummer Stewart) and, above all, owner of the legendary IRS Records. A businessman who had already proven his foresight with the Go-Go's and is now looking for another band with the same potential to launch. The Bangs, in truth, have no desire whatsoever to become the "new Go-Go's". Inevitably, the two bands will always be compared and set against one another. Looking closely, though, they don't actually have all that much in common, their musical reference points being mostly different. Around the same time the Bangs also make a brief appearance in the film "The Haircut" (starring John Cassavetes), directed by Tamar Simon Hoffs, Susanna's mother.

Then, through a strange twist of fate, the four girls are forced to change their name after another little-known band, also called Bangs, threatens to sue them ("Want to keep that name? Fine, then cough up 20,000 dollars!"). A sum that Susanna and co., barely into their twenties, certainly don't have. So, inspired by a song from the first album by the Electric Prunes, titled "Bangles", they opt for this slight variant, which after all also nods to their beloved Beatles. Some time later, to their great satisfaction, they discover that "Bangles" in Australian slang means "wild boys".

The Bangles sign with Lapd and secure a promise to release an Ep on Faulty Products, also run by Miles Copeland. The self-titled Ep, mixed in three days, is produced by renowned talent scout Craig Leon (who had previously worked with Ramones, Blondie and Suicide) and is preceded by the brilliant "The Real World", the band's first single, for which a video is also shot. The record, one of the many buried treasures of the Paisley Underground, features five fresh, fast-paced songs that rework the Byrds' jangle-pop with an aggressive punk-bred edge (emblematic tracks like "Want You", "Mary Street" and "How Is The Air Up There?" show the Bangles' more garage-leaning side).

The final result, though still a bit rough around the edges and hampered by a low-budget recording, makes for a more than convincing calling card. The Ep in fact receives very positive critical response, and the Bangles begin to be courted by major labels: in 1983 they'll sign with Columbia. Earlier that same year, Annette Zilinskas leaves the Bangles to join the cowpunk band Blood On The Saddle. Susanna and the Peterson sisters find the perfect replacement in Michael Steele, former bassist of the Runaways, with whom, in truth, she never actually got to play in the studio.

My experience with the Runaways was very educational for me. After I told Kim Fowley that I could never sing a song as stupid as "Cherry Bomb", my career in the band ended immediately. So I had sworn to myself that I would never again play in an all-girl band.

(Michael Steele)

Micki, however, makes an exception for the Bangles, since she genuinely likes them. The reasons why, back in 1977, she decided to change her name to such a blatantly masculine one have never been made clear ("No sex change, don't worry", she's quick to assure us).

Wasn't Born To Follow

Looking around and convincing yourself that it's 1966 is a nice fantasy. But it isn't reality: 1966 has already happened, that music has already been made. Unfortunately, none of us were mature enough at the time to appreciate it. That's why there's a veil of sadness hanging over this whole Sixties Revival business.

(Vicki Peterson)

The sixties imagery so dear to the Bangles would become one of the obsessions of a decade full of contradictions. The music circulating most widely in Los Angeles' underground circuits at the time, however, was something else entirely: punk, hardcore and rockabilly were the genres of choice among the youngest crowd. And yet, at the same time, a scene was taking shape and developing whose very creed was the recovery of American musical tradition. This was the so-called Paisley Underground, a movement to which the Bangles belonged through and through. These emerging bands were still tied to the classic song form (albeit with the inevitable psychedelic detours) and were often branded - in a derogatory sense - as mere traditionalists. But the goal of the Bangles and the other Paisley Underground bands was, if anything, to rework something new, starting from the fixed points of the past. "We simply wanted to extract the essence of that period, and then adapt it to the present day. We were certainly influenced by that music, without being copycats", Vicki Peterson would later explain.

We'd all get together and talk about the music we loved, making up out of thin air that we owned extremely rare records nobody else had - stuff like, 'Hey, did you know we've found unreleased Syd Barrett material where he performs Italian folk songs?'.

(Vicki Peterson)

As proof of the sincere passion harbored for an unrepeatable musical era, the protagonists of the Paisley Underground formed a supergroup, the Rainy Day, who released a self-titled album in 1984. A sort of tribute compilation, featuring covers of songs drawn from the catalogues of artists such as Bob Dylan, Beach Boys, Big Star, Buffalo Springfield, Jimi Hendrix, Velvet Underground and Who. The project brought together members of Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, Three O'Clock and, indeed, the Bangles. Susanna and Vicki take an active part in the album, handling backing vocals; Hoffs, meanwhile, delivers an unforgettable performance on the opening "I'll Keep It With Mine", the song Bob Dylan wrote for Nico, and also holds her own on "I'll Be Your Mirror".

Dreaming of Liverpool

Once they'd gained the right experience, the Bangles felt ready for their proper recording debut, which would turn out to be one of the finest works of the entire Paisley Underground. Produced by David Kahne, who imposed strict discipline in the studio, All Over The Place is a concentrate of crystalline melodies, Byrds-like vocal harmonies and psychedelic guitars, with frequent tributes to the music that had made the West Coast great. It contains nine original songs (five written by Vicki, four by Susanna together with the elder Peterson sister) and two successful covers: "Live" and "Going Down To Liverpool". The first, dug up from the slim catalogue of the Merry-Go-Round (an American psychedelic pop band from the 60s), is a sparkling Merseybeat number. The second, sung by drummer Debbi Peterson and steeped in a deep sense of melancholy (with hopeless lines like "I'm going down to Liverpool to do nothing/ All the days of my life"), had been written by former Soft Boys guitarist Kimberley Rew for his new band, Katrina & The Waves. In the amusing video shot for "Going Down To Liverpool", the star is Leonard Himoy (aka Mr. Spock from Star Trek), a friend of the Hoffs family, playing a cab driver who, after turning on the radio just as a Bangles song comes on, suddenly finds all four of them sitting in his back seat and can't tell whether he's hallucinating or if it's really happening.

Among the songs sung by Hoffs, particular standouts include "Hero Takes A Fall" (chosen as the first single and inspired by a definition of Aristotle's that Susanna had learned while studying Greek tragedy at university), the infectious, irresistible "James" and "Dover Beach" (whose title is borrowed from one of the singer-guitarist's favorite poems, written by Matthew Arnold; there are also references to T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock"). The latter, marked by sharp, acidic guitar sounds, is probably Vicki and Susanna's compositional high point. But every song on the tracklist deserves to be remembered, not only for the intricate vocal blends reminiscent of the Mamas & Papas. "All About You" and "He's Got A Secret" update and refresh the Byrds' jangle-pop for the post-punk era. "Tell Me", essentially cowpunk already, is a riot of inventive riffs, electric country played with punk fervor. Even more aggressive (lyrically too) and frantic in pace is "Silent Treatment", the fastest song the Bangles ever recorded. "Restless", meanwhile, flirts with funk and R&B, while the closing "More Than Meets The Eye" is an ambitious orchestral ballad with a Beatlesque flavor, arranged by Jimmie Haskell.

All Over The Place sells poorly, but it does earn praise from specialist critics, who single out the Bangles as one of America's most promising bands, often comparing them to Rem, due to their shared reworking of Sixties musical themes filtered through a fresh sensibility. What's more, the four Californians' fiery, flawless live shows help fuel growing interest in the band. The Bangles also develop a distinctive, eccentric look, with hippie-inspired miniskirts that Susanna and Michael would never, ever give up. And it's precisely during a tour opening for Cyndi Lauper that the Bangles would begin reaching a wide audience, one that would soon come to embrace them as its new heroines.

At Madonna and Cyndi Lauper shows the audience is mostly female. Our concerts, on the other hand, are packed with boys. We're probably able to offer a different kind of sexual energy.

(Susanna Hoffs)

Cleopatra rock

The Bangles, busy promoting All Over The Place, are constantly on tour and don't have much time left to write new songs. For this reason David Kahne, confirmed as producer for the follow-up to their debut album, offers them several songs written by other artists, some of which would end up on Different Light. The new record will thus feature two proper covers ("If She Knew What She Wants" and "September Gurls") plus two songs penned by outside writers, both destined to become massive hits selling millions of copies: "Manic Monday" and "Walk Like An Egyptian". The Bangles are therefore forced, at least in part, to make some compromises ("We're not a garage band anymore. We're a living room band now," Vicki Peterson would admit, with a hint of regret, once large-scale success arrived).

For a few years now, the four Californians have had a particular admirer in a certain Prince, who discovered them thanks to MTV and was left ecstatic after hearing "Hero Takes A Fall" and its guitar solo. The Minneapolis imp tries not to miss a single Bangles show and sometimes even joins them onstage (he knows their entire repertoire by heart). For those with a dirtier mind, the real object of his attentions is Susanna, with whom he's clearly smitten (there's no end to the speculation at the time about a supposed fling between the two). Hoffs herself describes Prince's interest in her as "very mysterious", and it certainly doesn't go unnoticed by the media, who amplify the attention surrounding Susanna's figure, to the detriment of her bandmates, who are gradually pushed further into the background and overlooked. The fact remains that Prince, signing under the pseudonym Christopher, decides to gift the Bangles two unreleased compositions: "Jealous Girl" (rejected) and "Manic Monday". The latter, originally offered to Apollonia 6, is perhaps the single catchiest song Prince ever wrote, a brilliant example of pure, simple pop perfection. A song tinged with melancholy, it's the one that lets the Bangles truly break through, climbing all the way to number two on the US charts (and, ironically, the top spot is denied to them by another Prince song, "Kiss").

I'm convinced Prince wrote 'Manic Monday' thinking of us. We didn't have to change much, it was already a sexy, very feminine song on its own.

(Susanna Hoffs)

And if 1986 is the year of the Bangles' commercial breakthrough, 1987 is the year of their definitive worldwide consecration. Credit goes to "Walk Like An Egyptian", with the girls made up and decked out like modern-day Cleopatras designed for the MTV age. Beyond the easy jokes about the dance moves, the lyrics full of stereotypes (which, in today's politically correct climate, would certainly be deemed offensive...) and an operation clearly engineered from the drawing board by Liam Sternberg, "Walk Like An Egyptian" remains a pop song built with all the right credentials. A song that's, in its own way, quirky and out of the ordinary, with an instantly memorable melody that seems tailor-made for whistling. Vicki Peterson, Michael Steele and Susanna Hoffs each take a verse, but the one who steals the show from her bandmates in the video — in constant heavy rotation on MTV — is above all Hoffs, who seduces the audience with simple glances that are humanly impossible to resist. It must be said that Susanna, from the earliest days, had always been at the centre of attention: a combination of factors (her instantly recognisable voice, her petite stature and, of course, those hugely expressive eyes) had made her the group's focal point. Debbi Peterson, by contrast, despises the song with every fibre of her being, and she has good reason to: she's replaced by a drum machine and is the only one who doesn't sing a single verse. "Walk Like An Egyptian" tops the Billboard chart, stays there for four consecutive weeks and turns out to be the best-selling single in America for the whole of 1987. And thanks to the success achieved worldwide, which also earns the Californian quartet a guest appearance at the Sanremo Festival as well as a Brit Award for Best International Group of the year, Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley declares 23 February 1987 "Bangles Day". It's a period in which the four Californians gather admirers of the highest calibre, including Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Robert Plant, Sting and Michael J. Fox.

But Different Light, the album featuring both these planet-sized hits, also does extremely well: it goes triple platinum in the US, double in Canada and even platinum once in the UK. The heavy presence of keyboards makes the album a typical product of the Eighties, jangle-pop diluted into the mainstream. Susanna Hoffs's voice takes on more girlish tones compared to the recent past, particularly noticeable on "If She Knew What She Wants", another cover (this time of Jules Shear) that does well commercially. The fourth single, "Walking Down Your Street", is Susanna's tribute to the Motown sound (the video is a fun one, featuring a rather irritated Little Richard among its stars).

The more straightforwardly rock tracks, starting with "In A Different Light", are all sung and written by Vicki Peterson; in a record known mainly for its singles, it would be only fair to rediscover little gems like "Let It Go" and, above all, "Angels Don't Fall In Love". Michael Steele, confined to backing vocals on the first record, finds more room here, taking lead vocals on two songs: "September Gurls", the timeless Big Star classic, and "Following", an acoustic ballad written by the bassist herself, which showcases her warm voice. And even the tracks that smell a bit like filler, such as "Standing In The Hallway" and "Return Post", still have a reason to exist.

Complicated girls

Success, inevitably, turns the Bangles' lives upside down and stirs up the first mutual jealousies. It's hard for the others to accept that, rightly or wrongly, Susanna is recognised everywhere as the group's leader and poster girl. The statements made by Hoffs herself during that period — by then a star as well as a poster girl — speak volumes about her desire to break free from the rest of the band: "There are so many things I'd like to do in my life... The Bangles are just one of them". Susanna Hoffs, to whom Rickenbacker would dedicate a special six-string guitar model in 1989 (the 350 SH Susanna Hoffs Signature), thus tries her hand at film, starring in "The Allnighter", a romantic teen movie directed by her mother, which turned out to be a huge flop. The only real reason to watch the film, after all, is Susanna's presence, as she appears in a couple of racy scenes. In 1988, alongside Aerosmith, Run–D.M.C., Slayer, Joan Jett and Roy Orbison, the Bangles take part in the soundtrack of "Less Than Zero". They have a happy idea: updating an old Simon & Garfunkel song, "A Hazy Shade Of Winter", for the times, with hard rock guitars. An attempt that works brilliantly, rewarded by the public (the song reaches number two on the US charts).

We want the audience to understand that we're not models, we're not actresses, we're not a 'cute novelty act'. We're a rock'n'roll band and that's how we want to be treated.

(Michael Steele)

The Bangles never made a secret of their dissatisfaction with how Different Light had been put together, its making dragged down by a number of problems. Too many collaborators, too many people wanting to have their say, and the irritating feeling of no longer being masters of their own destiny. Their stated goal is therefore to regain greater autonomy and total control over their own music. David Kahne, who had become an overbearing presence, is accordingly dropped, and in the end — after the initial sessions with Rick Rubin had led nowhere (their working methods were too different) — the choice falls on the more low-key Davitt Sigerson. Susanna Hoffs makes things clear right away: "We firmly believe in our own ideas about the arrangements and vocal harmonies". The final result satisfies the Bangles, proud of their new album precisely because of the greater freedom they were given. "We put heart and sweat into it," they say in unison. Although a few songs were made with outside collaborators, Everything contains no covers and no songs written specifically for them by other authors. The four Californians are determined to prove to their detractors — who evidently never listened to their debut album — that they are more than capable of writing songs on their own.

There's no shortage of catchy singles like "In My Room", which reached number five in the States, with cheeky lyrics written by Hoffs ("I'll do anything you want me to/ In your room"), set to a sonic fabric that blends typically 80s rock with the exotic psychedelia of the 60s. "Eternal Flame", a romantic orchestral torch-song written by Susanna Hoffs together with the prolific duo Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, becomes a massive hit and turns into the Bangles' best-selling single (topping the British chart for over a month, and reaching number one in the US too: before them, only two other girl groups, the Supremes and the Shirelles, had managed to take more than one song to the top of the Billboard chart). The 80s gave us more than enough sugar-saturated ballads, but "Eternal Flame" is certainly among the most memorable. The third single, "Be With You", is entirely Debbi Peterson's work, giving her the spotlight she had so loudly demanded (the drummer also sings "Some Dreams Come True").

Three songs, on the other hand, are written and sung by Michael Steele: the autobiographical, melancholy “Complicated Girl,” “Something To Believe In” and “Glitter Years” (the latter a nostalgic homage to glam excess, complete with a Bowie-esque quote). Vicki Peterson, who had hoped the new album would be more guitar-oriented than its predecessor, puts her name to some of the most convincing tracks, such as the Indian-tinged “Bell Jar” and the powerful “Watching The Sky.”

There's a bit of a quality dip here and there, with a few tracks coming off as rather limp, but Everything, an overall fairly underrated record, nevertheless closes with two tracks of real substance: “Waiting For You” adds an ethereal melody sung by Susanna Hoffs to the band's usual jingle-jangle guitars, while “Crash And Burn,” written by Vicki Peterson, is a lively pop-punk number in the style of Blondie.

By now, though, relations within the group have soured, and the split is only a matter of time. It comes in 1989, at the end of a period in which the Californians had even stopped speaking to one another (suffice it to say that Susanna and Michael weren't even invited to Debbi's wedding). The Bangles bow out with a Greatest Hits, released in 1990. Enjoyable as it is, the compilation — which includes all of the band's singles, plus a B-side (an excellent cover of the Grass Roots' “Where Were You When I Needed You,” one of many Sixties bands unjustly forgotten too soon) and one previously unreleased track (the excellent “Everything I Wanted,” mysteriously left off the previous album) — doesn't entirely do the Bangles justice, favoring their more commercial side and shortchanging the early part of their career, represented here only by “Hero Takes A Fall” and “Going Down To Liverpool.”

Susanna Hoffs' solo career

Among the former Bangles, the most eagerly awaited is clearly Susanna Hoffs, who seems to have everything needed to keep her hot streak going as a solo artist too. But, as so often happens in these cases, expectations are dashed. Her debut album, When You're A Boy, turns out colorless and fails to make much of a commercial impact, peaking at a measly 83rd place on the American chart before being quickly forgotten by everyone. It's a genuinely rather bland record, synthetic bubblegum pop with no real spark, despite a handful of decent tracks, such as lead single “My Side Of The Bed” (whose video captures Hoffs at the peak of her beauty), the perky “No Kind Of Love,” “This Time” and “It's Lonely Out Here,” and, all things considered, even the odd cover of David Bowie's “Boys Keep Swinging,” which gives the album its title. Far more grating are the syrupier moments, with the word “love” popping up in no fewer than four of the twelve titles.

The failure of When You're A Boy, an album later disowned by its own creator, deals a serious blow to Susanna's career, which from this point on will never again enjoy commercial success.

Susanna Hoffs, who had in the meantime married director Jay Roach (with whom she would have two sons, Jackson and Sam Rayfield), gives it another shot in 1996, this time with far more conviction in her own abilities, releasing a self-titled album that is decidedly more inspired. It's a very good example of classic-style pop-rock, with a strong folk component; the guitars no longer look only to the Byrds' jingle-jangle, but sound much more blues-inflected (and on the bonus track, a cover of Stealers Wheel's “Stuck In The Middle With You,” a slide guitar even makes an appearance). It's a melancholy, reflective record with bittersweet tones, mature lyrics and intense, heartfelt performances from Susanna, who took quite a while to put out her second release under her own name. The former Bangles singer-guitarist had in fact had to fight a legal battle with Columbia, who felt the album was too folky and not commercial enough. Hoffs, for her part, had grown tired of the situation and didn't feel artistically free; for this reason she decided to leave Columbia, signing instead with the small London Records label.

I've fought too many battles to have full control over my music.

(Susanna Hoffs)

A number of musicians worked on the record, including David Kitay (who co-wrote more than one song with Hoffs), David Baerwald, David Lowery, Greg Leisz, Jason Falkner, Matthew Sweet and many others, among them Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Go's. The long list also includes Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse), whom Susanna met in 1993, and who in turn helped write one of the album's most beautiful songs, “Enormous Wings.” The second side of the album is particularly strong, a crescendo of a finale with songs that each top the last, such as “Happy Place,” “Those Days Are Over,” “Weak With Love” (dedicated to John Lennon) and the epic cover of “To Sir With Love.” Susanna Hoffs, despite earning a number of excellent reviews from critics, passes unnoticed in terms of both media attention and sales, failing to chart at all and soon falling into obscurity. But it's never too late to rediscover it.

Once the Bangles reunited, Susanna Hoffs' solo career took a back seat, though it was never entirely abandoned. Between 2006 and 2013, in fact, the Californian artist released — together with her partner-in-crime Matthew Sweet — three excellent covers albums devoted respectively to the 60s, 70s and 80s, a genuine love letter to the music Susanna had grown up with.

2012, on the other hand, is the year a surprising new album of original material hits the market. Susanna Hoffs embraces chamber-pop, in a convincing baroque-leaning turn that once again showcases her refined vintage taste. No longer just the Beatles and the Byrds (though they're still present, especially the former): to the list of her main influences we now have to add Burt Bacharach, paid tribute to in particular on “Picture Me.”

Made with Andrew Brassell (a Nashville musician) and produced by Mitchell Froom, Someday is an elegant record, perfect for the autumn season, as suggested too by its cover, which shows Susanna sheltering under an umbrella (a nod to the cover of Françoise Hardy's debut album, “Tous les garçons et les filles”). The arrangements are rich and varied, including string and brass sections, horns and clarinets (the work done by sound engineer David Boucher is truly excellent). It's a relaxing listen, with standout tracks such as “One Day” (top-class baroque pop), “Raining” (worthy of the best Bangles material) and “Regret” (which vaguely recalls Wilco's “Jesus, Etc.”).

After nine years of recorded silence, Susanna Hoffs returns with an entire album of covers, meticulously chosen and drawn mostly from the glorious Sixties, the decade she's always felt closest to. Produced by Paul Bryan, Bright Lights is a record that follows on from Hoffs' previous solo effort: while it doesn't shy away from sunnier moments, the overall mood remains autumnal and melancholy. Folk rock is the favored genre here: an inevitable choice for an artist who grew up listening to the songs of Joni Mitchell and Carole King. All the more fitting, then, is the appearance of Aimee Mann, who lends her voice to the Beatles-esque “Name Of The Game,” a ballad written by Badfinger and chosen as the lead single. Opening the album is “Time Will Show The Wiser,” turned into a powerful piece of psychedelic rock thanks to a contribution from Rusty Anderson, guitarist in Paul McCartney's band. It's a song originally by Emitt Rhodes's Merry-Go-Round, later also covered by Fairport Convention on their debut album. The 60s, after all, hold no secrets for Hoffs: she had already proven it many times before, and she reminds us of it again here, dusting off minor classics by the Monkees (“You Just May Be The One,” written by the late Michael Nesmith) and Paul Revere & The Raiders (the lively “Him or Me – What's It Gonna Be?”). More predictable, though no less enjoyable, is the choice of “Femme Fatale,” performed in a heavily slowed-down version with a touch of Mazzy Star about it. For Susanna, it brings things full circle, since she had started out her career playing mostly Velvet Underground songs alongside David Roback, the future leader of Rain Parade.

There are plenty of unexpected choices too, with songs picked from the catalogues of artists you wouldn't immediately associate with Hoffs, such as Nick Drake or Chris Bell. And the biggest surprise in this respect comes right at the end, with a thoroughly successful cover of Syd Barrett's “No Good Trying,” on which Susanna finally steps outside her comfort zone, leaning further into the more psychedelic side of her music. Equally heartfelt is the tribute to her late friend Prince, with an evocative acoustic version of “Take Me With U.”

In short, Bright Lights isn't just a showcase for the good taste of the Bangles' singer — it's a record with a personality all its own, one that manages to stand on its own two feet.

Reunion time

A number of factors seemed to call for a Bangles reunion at the dawn of the new millennium. Several of their songs had suddenly come back into vogue thanks to soundtrack placements and assorted covers (including a dreadful version of "Eternal Flame" by Atomic Kitten, which tragically topped the UK charts). The four Bangles, having gotten past the tensions that led to their abrupt split at the height of their success, seized the moment and reformed the old band, initially just for a handful of live shows. In 1999 they recorded a song, "Get The Girl" (a tribute to the Beatles' "Taxman"), for the soundtrack of "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me", directed by Susanna's husband, and a year later they began recording the tracks that would make up Doll Revolution, the album marking the Bangles' definitive comeback, released in 2003.

There's no trace, however, of the revolution mentioned in the title: the Bangles' formula hasn't changed one bit, and their points of reference remain exactly the same. Anyone expecting a more "alternative" approach, some post-grunge anger - aside from the opening "Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution)", a cover of a song by Elvis Costello that somewhat echoes Hole - or a flirtation with electronics or trip-hop, is bound to be disappointed. The reassuring Doll Revolution has everything you'd expect from a Bangles album: that's its strength, but also its limitation (and the very reason several critics panned it).

Susanna Hoffs & co.'s trademark remains their vocal harmonies, as fine as ever. The opening tracks are promising, but the mixture gets stretched a bit too thin over a total of 15 tracks and a 60-minute runtime. Several songs had, in truth, already been written back in the Nineties by various members of the Bangles: "Mixed Messages" and "The Rain Song" belong to the repertoire of the Continental Drifters, a psychedelic rock band led by Vicki Peterson; "Ask Me No Questions" dates back to when Debbi Peterson fronted Kindred Spirit; and finally "Nickel Romeo" and "Between The Two" - which actually stray from the general tone of the rest of the album - had already been written by Michael Steele back in 1994. "Something That You Said", chosen as the first single, has a whiff of a teen TV theme tune, but is otherwise not bad at all; "Stealing Rosemary" carries echoes of the Mamas & Papas, while "Ride The Ride" is unabashedly Beatles-esque. Vicki Peterson alternates strong compositions with some rather "dated" ones ("Single By Choice" could cynically be described as a consolatory anthem for middle-aged spinsters everywhere), while Susanna Hoffs loses herself in ballads, see "Grateful", a kind of prayer placed at the end of the album.

All in all, a decent comeback: the Bangles don't take any risks, but they still know how to hit the right notes to avoid disappointing their longtime fans.

The Bangles kept up a steady live schedule, captured on the DVD "Return To Bangleonia - Live In Concert", but a new studio release wouldn't arrive until 2011, when Sweetheart Of The Sun came out. The album, recorded without bassist Michael Steele (who had left the group in 2005 for family reasons), marked a welcome return to their roots: several tracks (think of the driving "Ball N Chain" and "What A Life", the feisty "Sweet And Tender Romance", a cover of an old song by one-hit Scottish wonders the McKinleys, or "Open My Eyes", from the repertoire of Todd Rundgren's Nazz) recapture that garage-rock energy that had characterized their long-ago 1982 EP.

Tracks like "Under A Cloud" and "Through Your Eyes", both led by Susanna Hoffs on lead vocals, instead harken back to the folk-psychedelic sound of All Over The Place. There are also frequent nods to Big Star, as in the opener "Anna Lee" (Alex Chilton-esque to the core) or in "Lay Yourself Down" (with a guitar line echoing the melody of "Jesus Christ"), and to the Byrds in "Mesmerized". Somewhat by-the-numbers are the two retro-flavored ballads, "Circles In The Sky" and "One Of Two", sung by the Peterson sisters; "I Will Never Be Through With You", on the other hand, is one of those teenage-spirited songs Hoffs has always had a knack for writing. Overall, it's a solid album, at times even quite compelling, that shows the Bangles in good form.

Worth seeking out, and not just for its historical value, is the compilation Ladies And Gentlemen... The Bangles!, released in 2014, which collects the band's earliest singles (back when they were still called the Bangs), their iconic self-titled EP, demos, unreleased covers, live recordings and assorted rarities. A welcome gift for longtime fans, but also a strong reclaiming of the purity of their early days, when the Bangles truly reigned as the undisputed queens of the Paisley Underground. To remember them only for "Manic Monday" and "Walk Like An Egyptian" would be doing them a great disservice.

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