Few artists get the high distinction of being the progenitors of an entire genre. What's more, the ones who do usually didn't set out to be pioneers. It takes a rare confluence of innovation and a general disinterest in the contemporary understanding of the art in order to do something utterly novel in it.
By the mid-1980's the Cocteau Twins had stumbled onto a sound unlike any other. By using unusual effects and approaching vocals from an alternative angle they managed to carve out a slice in the sonic map of pop music that happened to be capable of evoking emotions rarely, if ever, associated with rock. The sound that would come to be known by many monikers (some more fitting than others) plumbed the depths of euphoria and a druggy sense of magic. Critics have since most prominently dubbed it Shoegaze or Dream Pop. It would be mimicked to varying degrees of success by the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and Lush in the decade to come. Still, nobody has done it quite as well the Cocteau Twins. As much premature detraction as Shoegaze tends to attract, maybe no band will stick around long enough to depose them.
There's something inherently appealing to pop music that isn't structured like pop music. While a large part of the Cocteau Twins' catalog consists of verse/chorus/bridge arrangements, there are more than a few gems like this particular track that demonstrate how the band's unique sound lends itself to more esoteric plotting.
This is the title track to what is probably the Cocteau Twins' most interesting album. Coming just prior to the unabashedly radio-friendly Heaven or Las Vegas, the Twins made no record tighter or more distinct than Blue Bell Knoll.
If I had only one song to convince someone of this band's merits, I would go for "Carloyn's Fingers". It's fun and hooky, but still strange enough to keep the flavor of the artist.
- Cico Buff
- Suckling the Mender
- Spooning Good Singing Gum
- Squeeze-Wax
With their last two albums, the Cocteau Twins essentially ran out of steam. Four Calender Cafe is still good, but especially standing next to its dancey predecessor, it and Milk and Kisses sound listless.
- Cherry Colored Funk
- Pitch the Baby
- Iceblink Luck
- Heaven or Las Vegas
This track and its titular album is to the Cocteau Twins what "More Than This" and Avalon were to Roxy Music. Heaven or Las Vegas is the Cocteau Twins introducing themselves to the Top 40 crowd, proving that pop music can be artistically virtuous as well.
- Wolf in the Breast
- Frou Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires
- Love's Easy Tears
- Ups
Milk and Kisses would prove to be the Cocteau Twins' last album. There wasn't much left for them to do anyway. Liz Fraser and Robin Guthrie had split up, popular music had gone decidedly over to alternative rock and the sound the band had cultivated over the past decade and a half had finally started to wear thin. Liz Fraser went on to an interesting, if eclectic, solo career and Robin Guthrie sat in the production booth of more than a few very interesting albums of the 1990's.
Ultimately, the Cocteau Twins are part novelty and part alien love affair. Fans, like myself, are often most interested by the different-ness of their sound. The Twins aren't everybody's cup of weird, echoing tea, but for those who acquire the taste there's nothing that compares.
I'll be back next week with another artist. Until then, listen well.
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