reviews / 2005

COCTEAU TWINS - Lullabies To Violaine

Name: COCTEAU TWINS – Lullabies To Violaine
Item: Lullabies To Violaine
Rating: 9
Author: Antonio Ciarletta

2005 (4AD)

dream-pop

by Antonio Ciarletta

Ladies and gentlemen, please rise, here come the Cocteau Twins. There are bands that shape the evolution of rock music, others that write great songs, and others still that attain cult status. The Cocteau Twins have embodied all of this at once, forging a sound that was original and distinctive, even while starting from very precise premises, and they gave us great compositions that will be remembered for a long time. Then there's Elizabeth Fraser's voice, diaphanous and austere, pure magic, capable of delivering emotion and shivers down the spine; how could anyone not love this woman? Alongside Kate Bush and Maggie Reilly, the most enchanting female voice of the 80s.

"Lullabies To Violaine" is nothing less than a collection of (almost) all the material not featured on the band's LPs, and take my word for it, we're talking about music of dazzling beauty. After all, it's no secret that several EPs contained some of the best things the Cocteau Twins ever produced. Press play, and feel the unique thrill of hearing in sequence "Sunburst And Snowblind", "Pepperment Pig", "Aikea-Guinea", from the dark/Siouxsie-esque implosions of the "Garlands" period, through the ethereal folk of "Treasure", up to the proto trip-hop of the final phase of their career.

Then there are the singles, the alternative versions and whatever else you could want. All you have to do is listen and stay silent, as if in a museum, at a theatrical premiere, in a church, so as to savor the pornographic splendor of "The Spangle Maker", or the pairing of "Tiny Dynamine"/"Echoes In A Shallow Bay"; such is their grace that it almost brings you to tears. And then: the graphic concept by V23, the packaging and everything else, one of those rare cases where marketing and quality music row in the same direction. "Lullabies To Violaine" is the fitting celebration of an immense band. Should you recommend it? No, it's mandatory.

N.B. The box set is limited to 15,000 copies.

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09/04/2016

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This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Antonio Ciarletta, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.

Read the original in Italian · About the English edition

Tracklist

DISC 1
1. Feathers Oar-Blades
2. Alas Dies Laughing
3. It's All But An Ark Lark
4. Peppermint Pig 7
5. Laughlines
6. Hazel
7. Sugar Hiccup
8. From The Flagstones
9. Hitherto
10. Because Of Whirl-Jack
11. The Spanglemaker
12. Pearly Dewdrops Drops - (alternate version)
13. Pepper Tree
14. Aikea Guinea - (alternate version)
15. Kookaburra
16. Quisquose
17. Rococco
DISC 2
1. Pink Orange Red
2. Ribbed And Veined
3. Plain Tiger
4. Sultitan Itan
5. Great Spangled Fratillery
6. Melonela
7. Pale Clouded White
8. Eggs And Their Shells
9. Loves Easy Tears
10. Those Eyes That Mouth
11. Sighs Smell Of Farewell
12. Orange Appled
13. Iceblink Luck
14. Mizake The Mizan
15. Watchlar
DISC 3
1. Evangeline
2. Mud And Dark
3. Summer-blink
4. Winter Wonderland
5. Frosty The Snowman
6. Bluebeard
7. Three Swept
8. Ice Pulse
9. Bluebeard - (acoustic version)
10. Rilkean Heart - (acoustic version)
11. Golden Vein - (acoustic version)
12. Pink Orange Red - (acoustic version)
13. Half Gifts - (acoustic version)
DISC 4
1. Feet Like Fins - (Mark Clifford remix)
2. Seekers Who Are Lovers - (Mark Clifford remix)
3. Violaine - (Mark Clifford remix)
4. Cherry Coloured Funk - (Mark Clifford remix)
5. Tishbite
6. Primitive Heart
7. Flock Of Soul
8. Round
9. An Elan
10. Violaine
11. Smile
12. Tranquil Eye
13. Circling Girl
14. Alice

COCTEAU TWINS on the web

Cocteau Twins profile

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Cocteau Twins on OndaRock

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Cocteau Twins

The voice of dreams

From their origins in the darkwave furrow of Siouxsie & The Banshees to their worldwide breakthrough under the banner of the dream-pop genre they pioneered and remain its finest exponents. A sonic flow steeped in dissonance, echo and reverb, flowing fluid, free and weightless, soaring in ecstatic flight to unreachable heights. The saga of Cocteau Twins, between pop instinct and experimentation, starting with Elizabeth Fraser's indescribable voice