"Join Hands" was different from "The Scream"; it was darker, more experimental, less abrasive, with a new "claustrophobic" mood. McKay's guitar-playing generates a "barrage of sound" while Severin's "bass carries the tune". The recording took place under a strained atmosphere. McKay and Kenny Morris withdrew and became uncommunicative with the rest of the band and their manager and co-producer of the album, Nils Stevenson. Unlike the sessions for "The Scream", the music was recorded without Siouxsie, as she added her vocals later. Morris did not take part in the mixing sessions, while Siouxsie was heavily involved. Commenting a few days before the album's release, Jon Savage wrote about the music: "The songs are delivered with the stifling intensity of inner violence in a locked room". Kris Needs remarked that "Join Hands" was, in retrospect, an ironic title for a record which split the group in two. The album reflected how the band felt at the time: "We were lonely and isolated and that comes across in the music", stated Siouxsie in 2003. She added: "Musically, "Join Hands" was an uncompromising album but it still sounds modern today".