Cocteau Twins / Garlands
Artist Cocteau Twins
Album Title: Garlands
Album Cover:
Primary Genre Alternative & Punk: Ambient/Dream Pop
Format CD
Released 09/01/1982
Reissue Date 02/10/2003
Label 4AD
Catalog No GAD 211 CD
Bar Code No 6 52637 02112 7
Reissue Yes
Remastered Yes
Packaging Jewelcase
Tracks
1. Blood Bitch (4:34)
2. Wax And Wane (4:04)
3. But I'm Not (2:45)
4. Blind Dumb Deaf (3:46)
5. Shallow Then Halo (5:16)
6. The Hollow Men (5:02)
7. Garlands (4:32)
8. Grail Overfloweth (5:22)
Date Acquired 06/26/2003
Personal Rating
Acquired from Tower Records (Chicago)
Purchase Price 10.00

Web Links

All Music Guide Entry
Discogs Entry:

Notes

2003 Remaster by Robin Guthrie

Cocteau Twins on this album are:
Elizabeth Fraser / vocals
Robin Guthrie / guitars
Will Heggie / bass

Originally released in 1982 on LP and in 1986 on CD, this is the remastered version. The extra tracks on the original CD version were omitted.
℗1982 4AD LTD. ©2002 4AD LTD.
Engineered at Blackwing studios.
The inlay and booklet mis-label track #1 as "Blood Bath". This mistake has been corrected with later press runs.

Reviews
All Music Guide Review:

Review by Ned Raggett
Those hearing Garlands for the first time who only know the band's other material will likely be more than a little surprised. Whereas the typical vision of the Twins is of beautiful washes of sounds and exultant vocals from Fraser, on Garlands the trio is still only part of the way there. Instead, the best comparison points are to the Cure on Faith and Pornography, perhaps Metal Box-era PiL, a touch of Joy Division here and there — in sum, deep, heavy mood verging on doom and gloom. Bassist Will Heggie, in the only full album he did with the Twins, clearly follows the Peter Hook/Simon Gallup style of low, ominous throb, while Guthrie's guitar work more often than not screeches loudly than shimmers. Fraser's singing has a starker edge, unsettling even at its most accessible, sometimes completely disturbing at other times. The strongest track, "Wax and Wane," has the trio creating a powerful but also surprisingly danceable track, the crisp drumbox beat working against Guthrie's compelling atmospherics and Fraser's vocal hook in the chorus. Beyond that and a couple of other moments, though, Garlands falters due to something the band generally avoided in the future — overt repetition. Too many of the songs rely on a unified formula that rarely changes; one need only compare to the multiplicity of styles tried on Head Over Heels to see the difference. As a debut effort, though, Garlands makes its own curious mark, preparing the band for greater heights. Import CD versions contain a complete John Peel session from 1983, with guest vocals from Cindytalk's Gordon Sharpe, which has since been re-released as part of the BBC Sessions package. Two other rarities, "Speak No Evil" and the fine "Perhaps Some Other Aeon," complete the release.


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