I recently finished listening to the complete discography of Cocteau Twins thanks to a music forum recommendation. Man, they're good: a Scottish rock/dreampop/ambient band from the early 90s with a vocalist who so often veers into glossolalia that looking up lyrics is quite the adventure. Overall, I really enjoyed all their stuff, and down the line I'd love to have their discography on vinyl (years down the line, probably).
Their first album, Garlands, was my least favorite. It's the most "rock" of their albums, kind of a glitzy punk feel to it, but it didn't seem like they had everything together yet. Head over Heels quickly fixed that; apparently it's considered "an archetype of early ethereal wave," which seems fitting. The next two, Treasure and Victorialand, might be the best of the bunch. Introspective, haunting, dreamy, ambient, evocative. Great stuff.
The Moon and the Melodies is a collaboration that adds saxophone and more prominent piano. Blue Bell Knoll continues on the tradition of their sound. Heaven or Las Vegas is probably my third favorite, followed closely by Four-Calendar Café. Milk and Kisses, their ninth and final album, is a fitting closing chapter to their sound.
I also listened to Lullabies to Violaine, a collection of EPs and singles (starting with the Lullabies EP and ending with the Violaine EP; 59 songs total). These songs were a really nice addition to the LPs, including some fun Christmas songs and remixes.
Overall, a new favorite band, and highly recommended if anything I've written sounds appealing.
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