Garlands
©4AD. UK, 1982.
‟Probably among the coolest crop of 80's rock for me is the whole strata of dream pop, ethereal wave, and of course the incredible beast that is shoegaze. And clearly these closely related genres were starting to fire off in 82'. Hell it seems like everything truly 80's (as opposed to late 70's spillover) was getting up to it's awkward adolescent start in this year! And awkward adolescent start pretty much defines this still charming album. If you're not familiar with the Cocteau Twins (not that I'm very in the know on them at all) they're famous (or infamous) for one particular little gist, that they don't really have lyrics. No, I don't mean they're instrumental, there are vocals here. But those vocals are complete nonsense. A word or two crops up every once in a awhile, but so far as I can tell even calling it stream of conscious seems to be applying too much in description. The vocals are in effect wordless. If you're a heavily lyrical person for some reason (this ain't literature! it's music!) then go curl up with your Leonard Cohen because this is pretty much designed to make you miserable. Though frankly I could give a flying fuck about lyrics most of the time so this absolutely suits me just right. But more in the potential category. Already the strength of this band is their sense of creating dreamy soundscapes and otherworldly experiences. But problem is they're clinging too close to their influences and not really breaking out to serve their own ends, still too tightly nursing the teat of Robert Smith and Siouxie Sioux. So with the music tangling with finding it's own identity the vocals really come through as the strongest part. Elizabeth Fraser could have been any old boring ethereal female singer, she could have been like Enya! But instead she doesn't just make a beautiful noise, she makes a strange and dynamic one. Lilting and hiccuping with like some kind of Cyndi Lauper horror version, she's pretty creepy! The guys on the instruments apparently just want to be goths, but they can be something else really. Nothing they do comes close to touching what they clearly want to go for, The Cure's Faith. I can think of single songs on there that outdo this whole release! But is this a good album? Oh sure. And is it brimming with obscene potential? You have no idea.‟
Zephos
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