Cocteau Twins
Albums
production, but this angelic woman named Elizabeth Fraser singing duets with herself (in a non existent
language she made up) over this spaced out, guitar and synth workouts. I like to think of their great four album
streak as a kind of human journey: the birth, the launch into space, the orbit and floating, and then the landing
back on earth. It reflects the tones and sounds of the albums, because even though this band always kind of
sounds the same, each of their albums definitely had a distinct sound. Great, influential band though, and many
other bands including My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain, Sigur Ros, and The Sundays would not
have been the same with out these guys. Truly, a band you cannot describe with words. - Trevor e.y.
Robin Guthrie - Guitar
Simon Raymond - Bass; Keyboards
Will Heggie - Bass
"Drum Machine" - Drums
Best Album - Blue Bell Knoll
Biggest Influences - Robert Wyatt, Tim Buckley, Roxy Music
1982
Garlands - 6/8
Garlands is a good debut album. It helped establish the Cocteau Twins as something different in the 80's,
and opposition to most mainstream crap. The sound here is very dark, and one gets the impression that the
Twins are out to change something. They sounded a little derivative here, the sound was like Brian Ferry
fronting Public Image Limited, with Eno doing something odd on keyboards. The standard for the band using a
drum machine was also set here, so those looking for a great drummer might look elsewhere. But for those
looking for great songs, there are a couple! "Hollow Men" has some crazy guitar noises mixed with an
interesting melody and "Wax and Wane" is the first Cocteau Twins classic song, with Frazier doing her made
up language thing and that bass part sounding demonic. "Shallow then Halo" establishes a solid mood, but it is
a little long for what it is, while "Blood Bitch" and "Garlands" have their moments but are not quite great songs.
The only bad songs come at the end of each 'side', "Grail Overfloweth" and "Blind Dumb Deaf"; they just go
nowhere. Overall, the band definitely has their own sound here, and that alone is quite exceptional. Many
bands never make an album as good as Garlands, much less a debut with such promise. - Trevor e.y.
1.blood bitch- 3
2.wax and wane- 4
3.but i'm not- 3
4.blind dumb deaf- 2
5.shallow then halo- 3
6.hollow men- 4
7.garlands- 3
8.grail overfloweth- 2
1983
Head Over Heels - 7/8
THE BIRTH. Their second album, and it sounds like a creature being born out of a void and crawling its
way to existence. Psychedelic, middle eastern, jangle, demented, pop music would sum it up. The song titles
make about as much sense as the lyrics, but that is what makes this band; that is their point. "Glass Candle
Grenades" and "Five Ten Fifty Fold" are scary little slow rock songs, "In our Anglehood" is a 80's style rev-up,
"Multifoiled" is a soul ballad like a child learning to speak nursery rhyme, and "When Mama was Moth" and
"Musette and Drums" are juts what they are - a great opener and a great closer. Every song is very is different
from the last one, but one thing they all have in common: they are intriguing. This is a very consistent record
music wise, one of the bands best, and also one of their most underrated. It is definitely their most demented
and guitar crazy. For 1983, this is insanely original music, and if this kind of music got exposure, it would be
nice. - Trevor e.y.
1.when mama was moth- 4
2.five ten fifty fold- 4
3.sugar hiccup- 3
4.in our angelhood- 4
5.glass candle grenades- 4
6.in the gold dust rush- 3
7.tinderbox- 2
8.multifoiled- 4
9.my love paramour- 3
10.mussette and drums- 4
1984
Treasure - 6/8
THE LAUNCH. This is the most popular of the Cocteau Twins albums, probably because it shows off a new
kind of POP music. Many call this the first "dreampop" album, and i guess it was. I don't really care. All of the
song titles are names of famous goddess like women also! I don't care about that either. The drum machine on
this album is one of the worst sounds i have ever heard in my life! Who gives a crap. All I care about is, is this
great music? Are the songs moving? Is the album consistent? Well, about half of these songs are great, like all
of the first four (excluding "Beatrix"). "Lorelei" especially is one of a kind music; the best song the band ever
made. Doesn't that song sound like a rocket launching into space to you? I think it does, it's very exploratory
music. Other great songs include "Aloysius" and "Donimo". My main beef with his record, is that there are
some songs that really go nowhere, like "Pandora" and "Cicely"; no good melody to speak of here. "Otterley" is
just some whispers over drone-type music, oh how original! It seems like they don't have enough good ideas
to flesh out a whole album, and that bugs me I have to say. I'd give it a high 6/8, and it did go along way as to
being influential to rock music, but they have made other more consistent albums.
- Trevor e.y.
1.ivo- 4
2.lorelei- 4*
3.beatrix- 3
4.persperone- 4
5.pandora- 2
6.amelia- 3
7.aloysius- 4
8.cicely- 2
9.otterley- 1
10.donimo- 4
1986
Victorialand - 7/8
THE ORBIT IN SPACE. I don't know if they meant this, but this album is way more 'drifty' and 'floaty' than
anything they have done in the past. Ever evolving! That is a good thing. This album actually starts out with
two minutes of silence, and i really think they were going for a 'space rock' kind of sound. Calm space rock
though, like an astronaut sitting in a spacesuit staring at earth; odd how music can reflect emotions. With
almost no percussion to speak of on some songs, they whip out snippets of greatness like "throughout the
dark months of april and may", "Oomingmak”, and “Fluffy Tufts”. Of course with an album like this, you can be
TOO spacey, like “Feet like Fins” and “How to Bring a Blush to the Snow” accomplish. Or don’t accomplish,
heh? I do think this is a great album though, because the band shows that great music can have a certain
style but also continually evolve, and every great band does this is some way. It shows that Guthrie is a
supreme songwriter that can craft albums where a bad song is not judged on necessarily being boring, just
being too much of a good thing. But that is not the case here, as “The Thinner the Air” shows by closing
Victorialand off into silence, preparing re-entry. - Trevor e.y.
1.lazy calm- 3
2.fluffy tufts- 4
3.throughout the dark months of april and may- 4
4.whales tales- 3
5.oomingmak- 4
6.little spacey- 3
7.feet like fins- 2
8.how to bring a blush to the snow- 2
9.the thinnner the air- 4
1988
Blue Bell Knoll - 8/8
LANDING BACK ON EARTH. "For Phoebe still a Baby" says 'welcome home from your soul seeking
journey' like nothing else. The first three songs form an impressive trilogy of power, each one building on the
last. This is my favorite Twins album, because i think it is the most consistent. It recalls Head over Heels with its
questions about the meaning of existence, like on "Itchy Glowbo Blow". Song titles like that show the band at
it's most creative, don't they? They match the nonsense lyrics, which are again, complete bliss upon listening.
Other highlights in melodies include "Cico Buff" with its soothing chorus and "Spooning Good Singing Gum"
with its completely different verse and chorus. The closer "Ella Megablast Burls Forever" is just a suitable
closer; To me, it plays like end credits to the great four album streak the band produced so far.
Speaking of drums, this album also has the best sounding percussion of any CT album, and no one ever
points that out. On Head over Heels and especially Treasure, the drums were so primitive they almost
distracted, but here they fit and it is nice. The band lands back on Earth here, and produces it's best set of
songs, and other that flow and match. The band in the past had always had high points and low points on
albums, but also a few songs that went nowhere, but here it is all sweet and good. Blue Bell Knoll is the perfect
Cocteau Twins album, and I'd recommend listening to it first. This way you'll know the band has come a long
way since its beginning and you'll be interested in its past. - Trevor e.y.
1.blue bell knoll- 4
2.athol brose- 4
3.caroyln's fingers- 4 *
4.for phoebe still a baby- 4
5.itchy glowbo blow- 4
6.cico buff- 4
7.suckling the mender- 3
8.spooning good singing gum- 4
9.kissed out red floatboat- 4
10.ella megablast burls forever- 3
1990
Heaven or Las Vegas - 6/8
No journey here. You can understand what Frazier says; what are they thinking is what we all said. Does
the style a band creates define who they are, and can they transcend it? That is the eternal question that all
bands face, and should they go on (to make money) or quit when their best work is done. Well it is only fair to
say that I do not dislike this album because it is more ‘normal’ than their others, but just because the songs are
not as good. They aren’t. Yeah, they open up with a winner, “Cherry Colored Funk”, but that is a common
trick. “Pitch the Baby” isn’t horrible, but it sounds like dance music, and that is just the beginning. “Iceblink
Luck” through “Fotzepolitic” is pop music, programmed into dance beats, for the masses. Is that what we have
turned into here? Hence, selling out may not be getting ‘poppy’ in music form, but in idea form.
There is a drop off in quality of songs on this record, and after five songs in a row of boringness, most people
would either not be affected (most people) or be extremely bored (people with good taste) and turn this
garbage off. But, what’s this?!? The last three songs rule! “wolf in the breast” has on of the band’s best
choruses, “Road, River, and Rail” gives off emotion through melody like the best of songs, and “Frou Frou
Foxes in Midsummer Fires” what can I say, CT always has great album enders. True, not all of what Fraser
sings can be understood on this record, but too much of it can for my taste; it sounds more like she is singing
oreintal music here than alien music, which ultimately fails. This ain’t ‘Madchester’ ok? Half good, half bad, but
poorly sequenced to boot, so they better be glad I don’t rate albums by how well they flow, just consistency.
- Trevor e.y.
1.cherry colored funk- 4
2.pitch the baby- 3
3.iceblink luck- 2
4.fifty fifty clown- 2
5.heaven or las vegas- 2
6.i wear your ring- 2
7.fotzepolitic- 2
8.wolf in the breast- 4
9.road, river, and rail- 4
10.frou frou foxes in midsummer fires- 4
- Note: I may get the last two albums someday, which are Four Calendar Cafe and Milk & Kisses. Then again,
they have never sounded too interesting, so I may not.
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