With all the bloggers, keyboard warriors, online books and the print media, it can sometimes feel you are drowning in words and opinions.
But just occasionally someone can, in few short sentences, capture the full spirit and meaning of something. I have Justin Chadwick to thank for nailing why I love the Cocteau Twins so much. Here be his submission:
At the risk of stating the blatantly obvious, few bands have achieved as much crystalline beauty through sound as the enigmatic Cocteau Twins did during their eighteen-year career. Across their eight studio albums, and nearly two dozen EPs and compilations, the Scottish trio of Elizabeth Fraser (vocals), Robin Guthrie (guitar), and Simon Raymonde (multiple instruments) proved masters of daydream-conjuring, goosebump-inducing songs that lodge themselves in your heart, mind, and soul for a lifetime. Indeed, their exalted, uniquely addictive brand of ethereal dream-pop produced some of the most spellbinding compositions heard during the 20th century’s final two decades.
The enduring permanence of Cocteau Twins’ music—a remarkable phenomenon considering that the group disbanded nearly twenty years ago—has much to do with the rarefied treasure that is Fraser’s voice, a stunning, operatic instrument that defies all comparison. An acquired taste for some, an unequivocal blessing for others, Fraser’s unorthodox approach to lyricism embraces a fluid hybrid between discernible English and indecipherable Glossolalia, the convergence of which has made for some of the most stirring vocal displays ever committed to wax. Though while Fraser’s voice was always front and center, her two comrades Guthrie and Raymonde, the duo responsible for the band’s lush, atmospheric wall of shimmering sound, played an equally influential role in the band’s success and indelible legacy.
Wow. Direct but all encompassing.
Anyone got other offerings?
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