Cocteau Twins ‎– Garlands

4/5

A totally unique album. Cocteau Twins found their definite style only after the release of this, their first album, yet Garlands stands on its own merit and has never been matched by the Cocteau Twins or any other band before or after.
Garlads owes much more to new wave than later Cocteau Twins works. Still it's probably the first dream pop/shoegazer album ever. It's not all about bliss, though; musically as well as lyrically it's very dark. Pronounced basslines and very solid beatmachine programming compliment the typical fluid guitar. But most of all there's no song on this album without at least one startling melodic idea by Elizabeth Fraser.
To me, one of the best albums ever made.

And so it begins. The Cocteau Twins' first release (originally released on 4AD in mid-82) is murky and dissonant, a far cry from the intricate and beautiful melodies that the group would come to be known for later on. There's a definite Siouxsie/Bauhaus influence throughout this release (indeed, whenever I put this on, it's frequently mistaken for the Banshees' 'The Scream' or even Bauhaus' 'Mask'!), 'Blood Bitch' and 'Wax & Wane' might as well be Siouxsie knockoffs.

However, the eerie beauty that would come to characterize so many of their later work is apparent (though inconsistently) throughout the album, and if you concentrate hard enough. Check out 'Shallow Then Halo' or the title track. The abrasive layers of guitar and bass, along with the sequenced synth-drum patterns, make for a dark, dense and claustrophobic sound that owes just as much to the intricacies of Fripp as it does to the harshness of Bauhaus.

What makes the band truly different is vocalist Liz Frasier's voice. She's not as yet accomplished here, being content to sing in a fixed range of pitch, but she's highly inventive in her delivery. The 'lyrics' are sung in a strange semi-English(?) dialogue. She almost yodels at times and ends many vocal passages with an unusual but delicate warble. As hynotizing as it is disturbing, it's the group's main focal point, pulling all the other elements of the group's music together for an intriguing listen.

'Garlands' is not a great release but it's a good snapshot of an evolving band, still young and eager, finding their sound and purpose in the recording studio. A good start.

Cocteau Twins is not the first band that comes in mind for an electronica database, but OK, there is the ever sec hitting drummachine so that makes a good entrance ticket I guess.
Cocteau Twins is not about electronica but is all about Elisabeth Fraser’s voice and, especially in the case of Garlands, about howling guitars creating this darkened siren song. The thing with Liz’ voice is like with Siouxsie : either you can’t stand it, either you get drugged by it.
This is their first album and it still has a lot of rough, unpolished edges giving it a lot of character and personality. Beautiful eighties making it far into the next millennium!