When the thought of a Cocteau Twins post crossed my mind, it was during a caffeine fueled burst of creativity. The coffee gave me the power to not only process delinquent invoices, but to also wax poetically via the company email directory. The nearby 20-30 somethings, who I mingled with, saw me as some sort of freak. I honestly can't blame them, conventionality was the last thing from my mind. In fact, I would carelessly draw wacky wizards, dragons, and elves on ms paint for my enjoyment during an especially slow day.
First, I was going to make an ornate banner, which would be ethereal, to say the least. If you notice it above the text, feel free to judge it for yourself. Then I was going to make a mix, which would span their entire careers. It would make unfamiliar fans fanatics and it would also try to turn people on to this band, who have a significantly large and imposing discography under their belt.
Their early career is influential, as it has come to represent the ideals within the "Goth" music movement. In the subsequent years several bands for better or for worst have shaped the meaning and ideals of "Goth." More appropriately the Cocteau Twins were a "dream pop" group with post punk/Goth leanings. I honestly despise musical investigations that are purely focused on genre studies.
The album Treasure is when the group finally reached an epoch. The song writing style on this album went on to define the Cocteau Twins throughout their career, as it texturally became dream-like. This band seemed to care less about the fact that they lacked a drummer. They used the drum machine (the most loved and hated musical instrument) as a completely separate percussively versatile tool that is to say: the drum machine was used to make sounds, that were out of the traditional, acoustic drum set's range. Sometimes, however, they did use a traditional drum set, depending on the song.
In the early 90's they released Heaven or Las Vegas, which is actually my favorite album. This album crosses into an even more accessible territory. Several singles off of this album grazed the UK top 40. This album was indicative of a long persistent and largely successful career. This band influenced a young Bjork in the hills of Norway and young Harriet Wheeler in Manchester. It also influenced a young Lisa Gerrard in the fields of Australia. Actually, I dont know if it really influenced Dead Can Dance, but they are definetly contemporaries. In fact, they are both integral members of the 4AD supergroup This Mortal Coil.
Cocteau Sequence: click either here or on the image
And now the Tracklistings:
1.) Crushed
2.) Orange Appled
3.) Athol-Brose
4.) Aikea-Guinea
5.) Iceblink Luck
6.) My Love Paramore
7.) Sultitan Itan
8.) Wax and Wane
9.) Seekers Who are Lovers
10.) Pandora
11.) Fotzepolitic
12.) Cico Bluff
13.) Circling Girl
14.) Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fire
15.) Smile
