COCTEAU TWINS

COCTEAU TWINS
HEAD OVER HEELS (1983)
320 KBPS

Losing original member Heggie might at first have seemed a troubling blow, but in fact it allowed the duo of Fraser and Guthrie to transcend the darkened one-note gloom of Garlands with Head Over Heels. The album introduces a variety of different shadings and approaches to the incipient Cocteaus sound, pointing the band towards the exultant, elegant beauty of later releases. Opening number "When Mama Was Moth" demonstrates the new musical range nicely; Fraser's singing is much more upfront, while Guthrie creates a bewitching mix of dark guitar notes and sparkling keyboard tones, with percussion echoing in the background. Other songs, like the sax-accompanied "Five Ten Fiftyfold" and "The Tinderbox (Of a Heart)" reflect the more elaborate musical melancholy of the group, while still other cuts are downright sprightly. "Multifoiled" in particular is a charm, a jazzily-arranged number that lets Fraser do a bit of scatting (a perfect avenue for her lyrical approach!), while "In the Gold Dust Rush" mixes acoustic guitar drama into Fraser's swooping singing. Perhaps the two strongest numbers of all are: "Sugar Hiccup," mixing the mock choir effect the band would use elsewhere with both a lovely guitar line and singing; and "Musette and Drums," a massive, powerful collision of Guthrie's guitar at its loudest and most powerful and Fraser's singing at its most intense.

1 When Mama Was Moth
2 Five Ten Fiftyfold
3 Sugar Hiccup
4 In Our Angelhood
5 Glass Candle Grenades
6 In the Gold Dust Rush
7 The Tinderbox (Of a Heart)
8 Multifoiled
9 My Love Paramour
10 Musette and Drums

SUNBURST AND SNOWBLIND (1983)
320 KBPS

Released shortly after the majestic Head Over Heels album, Sunburst remakes one of that album's songs, the gorgeous rush of "Sugar Hiccup." The mock choir effect which Guthrie would employ even more fully on later songs becomes even more prominent, his own performance more striking and beautiful. Fraser's vocals change little, being just as fantastic as on the earlier cut, though she does add a touch more extra singing at points. The rest of the songs are of equal quality, each distinct in their own way. "From the Flagstones" begins with a lovely flanged guitar, a prominent drum pattern carrying the song as a whole. Fraser's singing throughout is wonderful, practically turning cartwheels at points. "Hitherto" moves at a slightly faster pace, Fraser's singing building upward on his line of the verse to a shimmering guitar line; Guthrie's main countermelody is also grand, a few simple descending notes that sound just perfect. "Because of Whirl-Jack" wraps everything up with the fastest song of the bunch, reminiscent of the pace of earlier songs like "Feathers-Oar-Blades" and "In Our Angelhood," but with a lighter air thanks to prominent acoustic guitar and piano.

1. Sugar Hiccup
2. From the Flagstones
3. Hitherto
4. Because of Whirl-Jack