I know I said I wouldn’t do this, but after Bowie I guess I’ve just gotten bold, or arrogant. After resisting for several months at this point, I’ve decided to condense the Cocteau Twins. Not so long ago I listed the Twins among those artists I deemed incondensable. The reason I cited was that the thing that makes the Cocteau Twins interesting is the unique sound they created, but that the band never really moved beyond those sounds. It may be true that, at least on the surface, this band produced ten samey studio albums and scads of similar EP’s, but further dissection shows a gradual shift that might not have been apparent to critics tracking the band as they progressed.

Formed in 1979 in Grangemouth, Scotland, the Cocteau Twins consisted of Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde. The former two really made up the lion’s share of what listeners would come to know as the Cocteau Twins sound. Guthrie basically reinvented the guitar with textured effects unlike anything ever produced in pop music, while Liz Fraser pioneered what one might call an “alternative” way of singing. Her vocals go beyond stylized into downright alien, bobbing up and down, pronouncing words in the most unusual way possible. If there are more than a dozen coherent words on any given Cocteau Twins album, you’re probably listening to it wrong.

·    Aikea-Guinea
This track is from one of several places. It was released as the title track of an EP but also appears on a few compilations. Regardless of where it can be found, “Aikea-Guinea” is pretty much the mark of where the Cocteau Twins transformed from murky goth experiments to the lilting, aggressively pretty sounds. It was late 1985 and Victorialand was just months from release.

·    Grail Overfloweth
Rewind to the band’s debut LP, Garlands. They were one of the first acts signed to now-iconic independent label 4AD, one of several record companies coming out of Britain at the time who really cared more about new sounds than profit. Early Cocteau Twins music is nearly avant-garde. It’s incoherent, weird and occasionally scary.

·    Hearsay Please
·    Five Ten Fiftyfold
·    In Our Angelhood
Also happening in the early 1980’s was the post-punk wave. Easily some of the most interesting music of the decade, the largely British movement took all of the energy and DIY of punk, then fed it some sugar and de-politicized it. Given different proclivities, the Cocteau Twins might have made more music like this instead of creating their own genre.

·    My Love Paramour
·    Musette and Drums
·    Lorelei
In my opinion, 1984’s Treasure is really the first Cocteau Twins album that is immediately listenable. As much as I dearly love this band, I’m the first to admit that chewing on their early work is something of an art appreciation project. Treasure is just a pure joy, though. It’s the Spring of Fraser and Guthrie’s romance, and it’s also the sound of a band finding something special.

·    Pandora
·    Aloysius
·    Donimo
·    Fluffy Tufts
On several occasions, the Cocteau Twins manage to do with trippy pop music what the entire New Age movement (musically or otherwise) has attempted to do for more than thirty years. Tracks like “Fluffy Tufts” bring a sense of peace and wonder with them, rescued from disingenuous sentiments by leaving any lingering pretensions at the door. It’s pretty for the sake of pretty, and I’m ok with that.

·    Wales Tails
·    Oomingmal
·    Little Spacey
Victorialand is the last Cocteau Twins album that feels like unabashed art-pop. The band lingers on its newfound prettiness and doesn’t really plug into much energy along the way. It’s basically the band stumbling upon the Shangri La where they would spend the rest of their career, but not really starting to frolic yet. That comes a year later with Blue Bell Knoll.

I’ll be back later this week with the second half of Cocteau Twins Condensed when they embrace pop as much as possible. Until then, listen well.