FEATURE:
A Buyer’s Guide
Part Thirty: Cocteau Twins
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FOR the thirtieth…
outing of A Buyer’s Guide, I am looking at the Cocteau Twins. The Dream-Pop band were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde in 1983. The band disbanded in 1997 in part due to issues stemming from the disintegration of Fraser and Guthrie's romantic relationship. There was talk of Cocteau Twins reuniting to play Coachella in 2005, but Fraser did not want to perform on the same stage as Guthrtie. It is a shame that we will not see the band play together again but, from their fantastic debut of 1982, Garlands, to their final studio album of 1996, Milk & Kisses, they definitely left their mark! To celebrate a wonderful band, I have recommended the four Cocteau Twins albums to own; the one that is a little underrated in my view; their final studio album and, as always, a book that makes for useful reading. If you need some guidance regarding the wonderful back catalogue of Cocteau Twins, then have a look at…
THE guide below.
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The Four Essential Albums
Head Over Heels
Release Date: 31st October, 1983
Label: 4AD
Producers: Cocteau Twins/John Fryer
Standout Tracks: Five Ten Fiftyfold/Glass Candle Grenades/My Love Paramour
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Cocteau-Twins-Head-Over-Heels/release/62108
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/67aJJEfYLuRmxvKgvTilOq?si=_yJemma1RpuFObDeboyzyg
Review:
“Losing original member Heggie might at first have seemed a troubling blow, but in fact it allowed the duo of Fraser and Guthrie to transcend the darkened one-note gloom of Garlands with Head Over Heels. The album introduces a variety of different shadings and approaches to the incipient Cocteaus sound, pointing the band towards the exultant, elegant beauty of later releases. Opening number "When Mama Was Moth" demonstrates the new musical range nicely; Fraser's singing is much more upfront, while Guthrie creates a bewitching mix of dark guitar notes and sparkling keyboard tones, with percussion echoing in the background. Other songs, like the sax-accompanied "Five Ten Fiftyfold" and "The Tinderbox (Of a Heart)" reflect the more elaborate musical melancholy of the group, while still other cuts are downright sprightly. "Multifoiled" in particular is a charm, a jazzily-arranged number that lets Fraser do a bit of scatting (a perfect avenue for her lyrical approach!), while "In the Gold Dust Rush" mixes acoustic guitar drama into Fraser's swooping singing. Perhaps the two strongest numbers of all are: "Sugar Hiccup," mixing the mock choir effect the band would use elsewhere with both a lovely guitar line and singing; and "Musette and Drums," a massive, powerful collision of Guthrie's guitar at its loudest and most powerful and Fraser's singing at its most intense” – AllMusic
Choice Cut: In Our Angelhood
Treasure
Release Date: 1st November, 1984
Label: 4AD
Producer: Cocteau Twins
Standout Tracks: Lorelei/Pandora (for Cindy)/Aloysius
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Cocteau-Twins-Treasure/master/5232
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/5N2tixSCaFkwdtJIG0jQmi?si=CxLwi0cnRa6STpX9bSzWWQ
Review:
“The fact remains that despite a whole host of post-punk wannabes adopting the flange 'n' drum machine tactics of the Twins, no-one has ever come remotely close to emulating their sound. They are, possibly, the perfect example of a band who inhabit their own hermetically-sealed universe. Fraser's voice to resort to cliche, can only be described as unearthly. The swoops, ululations and delicate, whimsical, nursery rhyme-aliteration were coaxed out of her famously painful shyness by bathing them in the new wave Phil Spectorism's of the trio's production style of reverb, drenched in delay...in a cathedral. Like Spector, the Cocteaus never knew the meaning of restraint when it came to processing a sound. But on Treasure, the style, which could prove a little too muddy, repetitive and overlayed on previous albums, here benefits from better digital equipment and Raymonde's production skills. Witness the way that the opener (and ode to 4AD label boss, Ivo Watts-Russell), Ivo, builds from folky lullaby to something that probably set Kevin Shields on his merry way” – BBC
Choice Cut: Persephone
Victorialand
Release Date: 14th April, 1986
Label: 4AD
Producer: Cocteau Twins
Standout Tracks: Lazy Calm/Throughout the Dark Months of April and May/How to Bring a Blush to the Snow
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Cocteau-Twins-Victorialand/master/5199
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/6Zv1yOKTpAHX0S0qOv2HRu?si=u1QLTm1XSOODBJF7VOHrLQ
Review:
“With Raymonde taking a break to work on the second This Mortal Coil album, Fraser and Guthrie made up the Cocteaus for the first full-length follow-up to Treasure. Rather than trying for a full-band approach, Fraser and Guthrie instead created a much more simply beautiful effort, with a relaxed air to it. Rhythms are subtler, with bass and drum machine often totally eschewed in favor of Guthrie's delicate guitar filigrees and lush, produced textures. Fraser is, as always, in wonderfully fine voice; her words are quite indecipherable, but the feelings are no less strong for it. "Lazy Calm" starts things perfectly, as deep, heavily-treated guitar strums combine with a heavy flange and guest saxophone from Dif Juz member Richard Thomas. Other songs sparkle with a lovely vivaciousness. Far from being stereotypical arty music to sit around and be gloomy to, two pieces especially shine with a gentle energy: "Fluffy Tufts," with its many-layered ringing strings and Fraser's overdubbed vocals; and the joyful "Little Spacey," with a soft rhythm underlying more sheer electric loveliness. Guthrie adds heavy reverb and overdubbed lines to create the Cocteaus' wash on such songs as "Throughout the Dark Months of April and May" and "Feet Like Fins," the latter again featuring Thomas, this time on tablas. For all the sweet beauty of Victorialand, things end on a quietly dramatic note, but a dramatic one nonetheless. "The Thinner the Air" starts with treated piano and rather spooky guitar leads -- the mysterious soloing is especially wonderful -- while Fraser then sings with a slightly haunted feeling, concluding with slightly nervous wails. It's an unexpected but effective touch for this fine record” – AllMusic
Choice Cut: Feet-like Fins
Heaven or Las Vegas
Release Date: 17th September, 1990
Label: 4AD
Producer: Cocteau Twins
Standout Tracks: Cherry-coloured Funk/Iceblink Luck/I Wear Your Ring
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Cocteau-Twins-Heaven-Or-Las-Vegas/master/5104
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/37hHXJ7xas2Nb7Jbi8ip4E?si=B6B-XpZCSiiQYr5Cgetokg
Review:
“Instead, they turned all that turmoil and uncertainty into the best album of their career. Heaven or Las Vegas explodes in Technicolor from the first melty guitar chords on “Cherry-Coloured Funk”. Every note sounds like a new and richer shade of indigo and scarlet and violet than the previous one, and it doesn’t fade until closer “Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires” descends into silence. If Blue Bell Knoll is spare and ambient, Heaven is supersaturated: lush without being vulgar, luxuriant without being indulgent. Tellingly, some lyrics bubble up to the surface, often loaded with personal meaning: “cherry,” “perfection,” “burn this madhouse down.” On a song called “Pitch the Baby”, ostensibly written for—or at least sung to—the couple’s infant daughter, Fraser repeats, “I’m so happy to care for you, I only want to love you,” as a sweet lullaby. We may not always be able to understand her lyrics, but that doesn’t mean they’re not important. In fact, her lyrics would never be more vital or confessional than they are on Heaven or Las Vegas, which lends the music added emotional and conceptual heft” – Pitchfork
Choice Cut: Heaven or Las Vegas
The Underrated Gem
Blue Bell Knoll
Release Date: 19th September, 1988
Label: 4AD
Producer: Cocteau Twins
Standout Tracks: Blue Bell Knoll/Carolyn's Fingers/Suckling the Mender
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Cocteau-Twins-Blue-Bell-Knoll/master/5040
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/7mP4JgeDNV56zXuBuvb2kI?si=fD2wAh8lRdGw61OPI8p3Uw
Review:
“On the other hand, its general dismissal by critics and fans as a lesser Cocteau Twins album may have less to do with the album itself and more to do with the fact that it is bookended by better and more ecstatically creative works. There are moments of disarming beauty on Blue Bell Knoll—the melting keyboards on “Cico Buff”, the lush vocal layering of “Athol-Brose”, the shooting-stars opening of “A Kissed Out Red Floatboat”, Raymonde’s syncopated bass trudge of “The Itchy Glowblo Blow”, the whatever that is at the end of “Spooning Good Singing Gum” (I think it might be a herd of lovelorn goats playing saxophones). But the standout is “Carolyn’s Fingers”, which would become the Cocteau Twins’ first American single. The band never utilized its rhythm section to better effect: Against Guthrie’s crisp guitar line, that churning momentum pushes Fraser’s vocals to greater and greater heights, her unexpected swoops and eloquently rolled consonants creating a bewildering indie-pop aria” – Pitchfork
Choice Cut: The Itchy Glowbo Blow
The Final Album
Milk & Kisses
Release Date: March 1996
Label: Fontana
Producers: Cocteau Twins
Standout Tracks: Tishbite/Calfskin Smack/Seekers Who are Lovers
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Cocteau-Twins-Milk-Kisses/master/5318
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/2xWjRAaO5qYhsJSxmJp1IK?si=I1ryzGtNR2yl18FB3PC-mA
Review:
“Throughout the '80s, Cocteau Twins created some of the most beautiful and innovative music of the decade. Liz Fraser's uncanny, gossamer voice and Robin Guthrie's shimmery guitar work both garnered acclaim and inspired bands. Milk & Kisses finds the band in a comfortable rut; they've created, and now perfected, a style of music so distinctive that there seems to be little recent creative growth. The result is a beautiful, lush, but somewhat dated and unengaging sounding album that tends to wash over the listener without making any real impact. It is, however, everything that a Cocteau Twins album promises; hypnotic, dreamy, awash in ethereal voices, and delicate, liquid guitars. "Tishbite" in particular delivers an accessible dream pop sound that sounds nice while it's playing but fails to have anything really memorable about it, a problem that plagues most of Milk & Kisses. "Half-Gifts," "Rilkean Heart," and "Treasure Hiding" have an airy, otherwordly prettiness to them -- but that's about it. Necessary for Cocteau Twins diehards and potentially interesting to those that have never heard the band before, Milk & Kisses says nothing, but says it beautifully” – AllMusic
Choice Cut: Violaine
The Cocteau Twins Book
The First Time I Heard Cocteau Twins
Authors: Scott Heim, Dean Garcia, Emily Franklin, Ian Masters, Harold Budd, Lincoln Fong, Guy Fixsen, Anka Wolbert, Mark Van Hoen and David Narcizo
Publication Date: 24th June, 2012
Publisher: Rosecliff Press
Synopsis:
“The First Time I Heard Cocteau Twins is Part II in an ongoing series where musicians and writers tell their stories of first hearing the music of an iconic artist or band. In this second volume (following the opening installment, which covered Joy Division / New Order), forty different musicians and writers remember their initial experiences hearing the seminal dreampop / post-punk band Cocteau Twins, a standout group from the legendary 4AD Records and favorite of radio personality John Peel. The Cocteau Twins hailed from Grangemouth, Scotland, and featured musicians Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, and Simon Raymonde.
Contributors to the Cocteau Twins edition include musicians such as David Narcizo (Throwing Muses); Ian Masters (Pale Saints); pianist and Cocteau Twins collaborator Harold Budd; band collaborator and live guitarist Lincoln Fong; Pete Fijalkowski (Adorable); Anka Wolbert (Clan of Xymox); Sean "Grasshopper" Mackowiak (Mercury Rev); Meredith Meyer; Mark Van Hoen (Locust, Seefeel); Paul Anderson (Tram); Paul Elam (Fieldhead); Rebecca Coseboom (Halou, Stripmall Architecture); Michael Cottone (The Green Kingdom); Sarah Jaffe; Antony Ryan (Isan); Dean Garcia (Curve); Kurt Feldman (The Pains of Being Pure at Heart); Erik Blood; Annie Barker; John Loring (Fleeting Joys); Guy Fixsen (Laika and co-engineer for My Bloody Valentine); Emily Elhaj (Implodes); Carlo Van Putten (The Convent, White Rose Transmission); Eric Quach (thisquietarmy); Ryan Policky (A Shoreline Dream); Matthew Kelly (The Autumns); Steve Elkins (The Autumns); Ryan Lum (Lovespirals); Michael Savage (The Fauns); Amman Abbasi (The Abbasi Brothers); Eric Loveland Heath; Ben Mullins (Midwest Product); Keith Canisius; Michael McCabe and David Read (Coldharbourstores); and writers like Emily Franklin, Craig Laurance Gidney, Alistair McCartney; Tony Leuzzi; and Sommer Browning.
The "First Time I Heard" book series is edited by Scott Heim, a novelist (Mysterious Skin, We Disappear) who is also a longtime music fan. Other installments in the series (or those forthcoming soon) include books on Joy Division / New Order, David Bowie, The Smiths, Kate Bush, R.E.M., Kraftwerk, My Bloody Valentine, Abba, Roxy Music, The Pixies, and others” – Amazon.co.uk
Order: https://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Time-Heard-Cocteau-Twins-ebook/dp/B008EFC3ZI