Comeback: an artist who came, went, and who we'd like to see again.

Music From Limbo
By Fred Leland

August 3, 2001

The 1980's Me Decade might have been a dark time for world priorities, but was an interesting time for music. The dark beast of Punk Rock was fading from the stage, and sloppily dividing in to two closely connected branches. On one side were the frosted hair fashionable pop stars of New Wave, with their catchy lyrics and dance beats (Duran Duran, Erasure, New Order, Thomas Dolby, Heaven 17, Human League, Culture Club, etc.) On the other side were bands with roots deep in Punk Rock or remained close to Punk's original spirit (Depeche Mode, The Cult, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Cure, etc.) And between the two you had wonderful hybrids like, My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult, Lush, and the Cocteau Twins.

Taking their name from an old Simple Minds' song in 1979, the Cocteau Twins formed in Scotland as Robin Guthrie (guitar) and Will Heggie (bass.) Eventually Robin Guthrie's girlfriend, Elizabeth Fraser (vocals,) made the band a trio and the Cocteau Twins' sound was born. Give it up for Elizabeth, because the music of the Twins is all about pure mood and lyrics are just sounds from another instrument ---lyrics sang in a mix of English, French, and what is referred to as "Cocteau Speak." Fraser's voice is really a trip: high and round as she sings lead, and like Karen Carpenter in quality when she's singing on the backup track. It's like listening to two separate female singers that manage to stay together almost as one voice in music that is dreamy, rich, and layered. If I had to describe their music in more mainstream terms, only Jazz Scat singers (Ella Fitzgerald) and The Blues come close to what the Cocteau Twins do.

Don't get me wrong this isn't all angst-ridden music that would speak to the alienated 1980s teen. Each Cocteau Twins album has its own character, and you can easily find songs to play while seducing someone, mopping your kitchen floor, cursing an ex, or on the car stereo as the soundtrack for your day. The latter activity comes to mind when I think of Treasure (1984) and Blue Bell Knoll (1988,) two albums that are musical twins to me (pun unintended,) despite the 4 years between them. I enjoy it when singers push their vocal abilities up and down brutal musical scales, because it adds to the song and not to the singer's ego (thank you Christina and Mariah.)

Either one of those diva wannabes would look foolish trying to do justice to the Twins' "Persephone" or "Pandora" (Treasure.) The drums and guitar keep a steady beat during "Persephone," as Fraser belts out this yodel-like sound and sings backup almost quietly beneath it all. It's like the opening music to a modern Film Noir in which a mysterious lady steps into a private detective's smoke filled and dimly lit office, shifting her hips effortlessly as she steps from the shadows, all dolled up and full of trouble. "Pandora" is the next track on the album and is definitely quieter than "Persephone." It's difficult to describe how music looks, but "Persephone" makes me see Fraser's voices as two ribbons floating in a sunset filled sky, dancing around each other, darting away, and then drifting back together.

"Carolyn's Fingers" from the Blue Bell Knoll (1988) album is how I was introduced to the Cocteau Twins. As a former angst-ridden teen of the 1980s, "Carolyn's Fingers" was the equivalent of "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow." Fraser sings in an operatic style that fades in and out around her backup track, which roles along with the music like "hey life goes on and things get better." Blue Bell Knoll is an important album for the Cocteau Twins because it was produced for Capital Records, and is not as experimental as earlier albums produced for the band's previous company, 4AD in Britain. The Twins actually signed with 4AD in 1982 and remained associated with the company until 1990, following the release of Heaven or Las Vegas.

Heaven or Las Vegas is in my opinion the Twins' best album, but it also marks a change in their sound. For one thing, the songs were written with a few clearly pronounced words of English. Secondly, the music is less dominated by or dependent on guitar chords, and employs some arrangements reminiscent of Depeche Mode. The Twins continued to explore new approaches to their music until they broke up quietly while working on a follow up to 1996's Milk and Kisses. Fortunately for Cocteau Twin fans this uncompleted project was released in 1999 as the BBC Sessions. To say that this band is prolific is a joke: because for a band to produce roughly an album a year for almost 20 years, with a musical style that isn't easy to pigeon-hole, is nothing short of incredible. Especially when you consider that the band survived the departure of a founding member (Will Heggie) in 1982, and the addition of bassist Simon Raymonde who would eventually lend his influence to their sound.

Considering the size of the Cocteau Twins' discography you can obviously jump into their music at any point in their evolution. But the three albums discussed in this article will give you a healthy idea of how innovative a band the Cocteau Twins were, and how they serve as a possible origin for the music of artists like Enigma, Enya, or the style of Ambient music. And why they are admired by artists like Prince, Michael Jackson, and Annie Lennox. Currently Guthrie and Raymonde are running their own record label (Bella Union,) to promote new talent and music that the two founders are "passionate about." Liz Fraser has been performing with other artists (Massive Attack, Peter Gabriel, and Craig Armstrong,) a solo album may be close to release.