Maybe I'm reading too much into that photo - and maybe it's due in part to the chin-up spunkiness and wide-eyed excitement I've detected in interviews when discussing her recent divorce from Banshees/Creatures drummer Budgie - but Mantaray feels downright bright-eyed and hopeful at times. Throughout its 41 minutes are references to new beginnings, awakenings, and transformations, but lest anyone think Siouxsie's gone all Oprah on us, let me assure you: not even close. I'd be more inclined to say Siouxsie's inclinations toward self-actualizations and positive transformations have a hell of a lot more in common with Bowie or Bolan than Ms. Winfrey. For one, they sound tantalizingly decadent and more than a bit sordid, rather than just plain greedy and selfish. I'd much rather indulge in Bowie's/Bolan's/Siouxsie's dreams of "personal wealth" than whatever Deepak Chopra or Rhonda Byrne or Insert-Self-Help-Guru/Oprah-Crony-Here has in mind, thanks all the same. Plus, they're not trying to bullshit us with some quasi-spirituality in the process - bonus!

But the songs! Evidence! Album opener/first single "Into a Swan" - bolstered by a pounding rhythm (sorry, no Budgie, but hey, what'd you expect?) and chugging guitars that have been treated to the point of near-oversaturation - is a declaration of feeling "a force I've never felt before / I don't want to fight it anymore." Siouxsie goes on to pronounce that she's been transformed: "I burst right out - into a swan." Sure, it might sound dodgy on paper, but in the context of such a compelling electro-swagger as this, it works brilliantly. Nice North African polyrhythmic percussion action from Egyptian master drummer Hossam Ramzy, too.

She pulls off quite the one-two punch by following up "Into a Swan" with the get-up-and-get-out-there anthem "About to Happen," another stomping piece of synth-driven glam sure to garner a few Goldfrapp comparisons from those who haven't yet realized how much Alison and Will are indebted to Siouxsie. Over a gloriously neon blanket of '80s-style synth warblings, our Goddess of Transformation announces, "it's about to happen, it's about to show." Throw in a nagging guitar riff and some tasty handclaps, and you've got yourself three minutes of strutting hedonism. Or, a wicked bit of rebirth. Take your pick.

"Here Comes That Day" is my bet for the next single. My head's already swimming in possibilities for the video! I'd always suspected that somewhere deep down inside Siouxsie was a Shirley Bassey just itchin' to get out, and at last I have back-up. Siouxsie's certainly shown off her slinkability from time to time - that exquisite Batman Returns Banshees contribution "Face to Face" leaps to mind, not to mention their take on The Jungle Book's "Trust in Me" from Through The Looking Glass (Geffen) - but it is here that we witness vamping unparalleled. It's a damn shame that latter-day James Bond films tend to settle for uninspiring title songs, as this one seems tailor-made for the task. The treacherous horn blasts, the trouble-afoot creep of the strings - oh, yes, and Siouxsie's thrillingly, charmingly villainous delivery.

"If It Doesn't Kill You" offers the sort of smoke-and-velvet cabaret we've come to expect from Siouxsie over the years: its ghostly piano and occasional groans of feedback recalls moments from Peepshow and The Rapture (both Geffen). "If it doesn't kill you, it will shape you/if it doesn't break you, it will make you," she asserts over a Portishead-esque production (minus the hip-hop-informed beats, though). For those of you who jelly at the knees at the mere thought of Siouxsie doing her tormented torch singer thing, let me warn you right now: this song is a big healthy dish of drama with just a sprinkle of implied violence, and it leaves a nice brooding aftertaste. It also, to my ears, is the most Banshees-like track on the album.

Mantaray also visits Creatures territory occasionally, as evidenced in the summery flutters of xylophone and marimba that bring a wide range of color to the album, as well as the occasional foray into percussion-heavy ecstasy so strongly identified with her side-project-turned-eventual-fulltime gig. "One Mile Below" boasts the same belly-punching tribal rhythms associated with the Creatures, along with a few birdlike squawks in the distance - honestly, you'd be forgiven for thinking it might've been recorded at the same time as their Hai! album (Sioux/Instinct). Hey, I even checked the liner notes twice to be sure that wasn't Budgie bashing away at the skins.

Don't want to choose between the Banshees or the Creatures, but would rather just hear both? Well, then, let me guide you directly to "Sea of Tranquility," a late-night revelation propelled by twinkling waves of vibraphone (how very Creatures) but rendered ominous by brooding piano lines, surging strings, and - yes, please - a menacing tango rhythm. Siouxsie switches between calls to "wash away" and to "walk away" (another divorce reference, perhaps?) as the waves crash and recede, only to crash all over again. There's something quite Peepshow about this song, but those vibraphone ripples are quintessential Creatures. So, is it a Banshees song with a dash of Creatures, or the other way around?

Neither, of course! Come on, it's Siouxsie - she can do whatever the hell she wants! And that's exactly what she seems to be doing. Good for her.