Back to November 1984 today and a slice of glistening indie- pop from The Cocteau Twins. All those words and phrases the press used to describe their music- ethereal, dreampop, sonic cathedrals, angelic voices, diaphanous- are all cliches but also all very close to the mark. Shards of crystalline, heavily delayed guitar, a massively reverbed drum machine and Liz's stellar vocals are all present, front and centre.
Lorelei was on Treasure, an album that the press raved about and was bought in large quantities- at the time it was 4AD's best selling record. The band hated it, Robin Guthrie calling it a product of an 'arty farty pre- Raphaelite' period he felt they got pushed into and Simon Raymonde their 'worst album by a mile'. But what do bands know? Listening to Treasure now and Lorelei specifically it sounds pretty wondrous. Like many of their 80s records it's a romantic and impressionistic, three people conjuring up something distinct and unique.
2 comments:
Back in 1984, I don't think I would have thought about how pleasing and engaging The Cocteau Twins work would remain for me so many decades later.
As a fan, I was pretty hard on them. They weren't brilliant live, endearing verging on moving were better descriptors. They built some pretty high expectations in me and not every album was immediate for me, but all of them grew on me and revealed themselves over time.
Lorelei is certainly a track that was immediately inspiring and essential. Listening to it so many years later, it remains such and takes me to places I enjoy inhabiting.
Not the first Cocteau Twins song I heard, or my favourite, but it's undeniably beautiful.
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