TheSirensSound

Cocteau Twins (ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE…)

Grangemouth, United Kingdom (1980 – 1997)

An innovative and influential Scottish band, Cocteau Twins was, throughout its existence, very difficult to catalog by genre. They built a sound based on woozy atmospherics and singer Elizabeth Fraser’s unmatchable vocals, most of which featured lyrics of made-up words and words plucked at random from the dictionary.

Forming in 1980 in Grangemouth, Scotland, their first release was Garlands in 1982 on 4AD Records, which was received well. Founding member Will Heggie left the group in 1983, prior to the release of their second full-length, Head Over Heels, that enjoyed more commercial and critical success than their first.

In 1983, the two remaining members, Fraser and Robin Guthrie, were part of the first album recorded by This Mortal Coil, a supergroup put together by Ivo Watts-Russell, head of 4AD Records. The pair had a hit with a cover of Tim Buckley’s Song to the Siren, and met Simon Raymonde, who joined the band on bass.

In April ‘84 they released Pearly Dewdrops’ Drop, the 12-inch that included The Spangle Maker. It was their first to reach the national top 40. When it peaked at 29 they were asked to play Top Of The Pops, but turned it down.

The 1984 album Treasure followed, peaking at 29 on the UK album chart.

A musical sidestep was to follow, as the Twins recorded a collaborative effort with minimalist composer Harold Budd, The Moon And The Melodies in 1985, and then a year later their next album, Victorialand, was recorded without Raymonde (who was working on the second This Mortal Coil album) or drums. The resulting album is possibly the most ambient of all their releases. Victorialand hit the UK album chart top 10, their biggest hit to date.

Artist – Cocteau Twins
Album – Garlands + John Peel Session
Release – 1982
Genre – Shoegaze, Dream-pop, Etheral

Tracklist
00 – Cocteau Twins – Blind Dumb Deaf
01 – Cocteau Twins – Blood Bitch
02 – Cocteau Twins – But I’m Not
03 – Cocteau Twins – Dear Heart
04 – Cocteau Twins – Garlands
06 – Cocteau Twins – Hazel
07 – Cocteau Twins – Hearsay Please
08 – Cocteau Twins – Perhaps Some Other Aeon
09 – Cocteau Twins – Shallow Then Halo
10 – Cocteau Twins – Speak No Evil
11 – Cocteau Twins – The Hollow Men
12 – Cocteau Twins – Wax And Wane
13 – Cocteau Twins – Blind Dumb Deaf
Cocteau Twins – Garlands + John Peel Session Pt 01
Cocteau Twins – Garlands + John Peel Session Pt 02
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Artist – Cocteau Twins
Album – Head Over Heels
Release – 1983
Genre – Shoegaze, Dream-pop, Etheral

Tracklist
A1 When Mama Was Moth 3:04
A2 Five Ten Fiftyfold 5:00
A3 Sugar Hiccup 3:40
A4 In Our Angelhood 2:59
A5 Glass Candle Grenades 2:44
B1 In the Gold Dust Rush 3:39
B2 The Tinderbox (Of a Heart) 4:56
B3 Multifoiled 2:36
B4 My Love Paramour 3:40
B5 Musette and Drums 4:36
Cocteau Twins – Head Over Heels
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Artist – Cocteau Twins
Album – Treasure
Release – 1984
Genre – Shoegaze, Dream-pop, Etheral

Tracklist
A1 Ivo 3:56
A2 Lorelei 3:42
A3 Beatrix 3:13
A4 Persephone 4:26
A5 Pandora (For Cindy) 5:33
B1 Amelia 3:31
B2 Aloysius 3:28
B3 Cicely 3:29
B4 Otterley 4:16
B5 Donimo 6:12
Cocteau Twins – Treasure
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Artist – Cocteau Twins
Album – Victorialand
Release – 1986
Genre – Shoegaze, Dream-pop, Etheral

Tracklist
A1 Lazy Calm 6:34
A2 Fluffy Tufts 3:05
A3 Throughout the Dark Months of April and May 3:05
A4 Whales Tails 3:19
B1 Oomingmak 2:42
B2 Little Spacey 3:26
B3 Feet-Like Fins 3:26
B4 How to Bring a Blush to the Snow 3:50
B5 The Thinner the Air 3:15
Cocteau Twins – Victorialand
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Artist – Cocteau Twins
Album – Blue Bell Knoll
Release – 1988
Genre – Shoegaze, Dream-pop, Etheral

Tracklist
A1 Blue Bell Knoll 3:25
A2 Athol-Brose 2:59
A3 Carolyn’s Fingers 3:08
A4 For Phoebe Still a Baby 3:16
A5 The Itchy Glowbo Blow 3:20
B1 Cico Buff 3:49
B2 Suckling the Mender 3:36
B3 Spooning Good Singing Gum 3:52
B4 A Kissed Out Red Floatboat 4:10
B5 Ella Megalast Burls Forever 3:38
Cocteau Twins – Blue Bell Knoll
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Artist – Cocteau Twins
Album – Heaven or Las Vegas
Release – 1990
Genre – Shoegaze, Dream-pop, Etheral

Tracklist
1 Cherry-Coloured Funk 3:12
2 Pitch the Baby 3:16
3 Iceblink Luck 3:18
4 Fifty-Fifty Clown 3:15
5 Heaven or Las Vegas 4:56
6 I Wear Your Ring 3:40
7 Fotzepolitic 3:30
8 Wolf in the Breast 3:32
9 Road, River and Rail 3:21
10 Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires 5:36
Cocteau Twins – Heaven Or Las Vegas

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Artist – Cocteau Twins
Album – Four-Calendar Café
Release – 1993
Genre – Shoegaze, Dream-pop, Etheral

Tracklist
01 Know Who You Are at Every Age 3:42
02 Evangeline 4:31
03 Bluebeard 3:56
04 Theft, and Wandering Around Lost 4:31
05 Oil of Angels 4:38
06 Squeeze-Wax 3:49
07 My Truth 4:34
08 Essence 3:02
09 Summerhead 3:39
10 Pur 5:02
Cocteau Twins – Four-Calendar Café
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Artist – Cocteau Twins
Album – Milk & Kisses
Release – 1996
Genre – Shoegaze, Dream-pop, Etheral

Tracklist
01 Violaine 3:44
02 Serpentskirt 3:57
03 Tishbite 3:50
04 Half-Gifts 4:17
05 Calfskin Smack 4:58
06 Rilkean Heart 4:02
07 Ups 3:34
08 Eperdu 4:38
09 Treasure Hiding 4:54
10 Seekers Who Are Lovers 4:46
Cocteau Twins – Milk & Kisses
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Artist – Cocteau Twins
Album – BBC Sessions
Release – 1999
Genre – Shoegaze, Dream-pop, Etheral

Disc 1
1.1 Wax and Wane
1.2 Garlands
1.3 Alas Dies Laughing
1.4 Feathers-Oar-Blades
1.5 Hearsay Please
1.6 Dear Heart
1.7 Blind Dumb Deaf
1.8 Hazel
1.9 The Tinderbox (Of a Heart)
1.10 Strange Fruit
1.11 Hitherto
1.12 From the Flagstones
1.13 Sugar Hiccup
1.14 In Our Angelhood
1.15 My Hue and Cry
1.16 Musette and Drums
Cocteau Twins – BBC Sessions – Disc 01

Disc 2
2.1 Hitherto
2.2 From the Flagstones
2.3 Musette and Drums
2.4 Pepper-Tree
2.5 Beatrix
2.6 Ivo
2.7 Otterley
2.8 Serpentskirt
2.9 Golden-Vein
2.10 Half-Gifts
2.11 Seekers Who Are Lovers
2.12 Calfskin Smack
2.13 Fifty-Fifty Clown
2.14 Violaine
Cocteau Twins – BBC Sessions – Disc 02
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Artist – Cocteau Twins
Album – Echoes In A Shallow Bay
Release – 1985
Genre – Shoegaze, Dream-pop, Etheral

Tracklist
A1 Great Spangled Fritillary 4:02
A2 Melonella 4:02
B1 Pale Clouded White 4:59
B2 Eggs and Their Shells 3:07
Cocteau Twins – Echoes In A Shallow Bay

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Tags: Shoegaze

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