Cocteau Twins - Treasure

Another 1984 music milestone. Cocteau Twins created a genre on its all, kickstarting the shoegaze revolution. Extremely influential release, especially these days, that includes jaw-dropping songs like "Ivo" or "Pandora (for Cindy)".

I don't know which Cocteau Twins album isn't some kind of milestone, but Treasure has a particular flavour, maybe darker than Victiorialand, but also frankly leaving the New Wave territories of Head Over Heels to establish more clearly what the quintessential sound of Cocteau Twins is: (extremely) ethereal vocals floating over fuzzy guitars. In a word, "aerial".

For the first time, the Scottish trio leaps over the 1980's to settle in shoegazy, dreamy yet-to-come 1990's. Just like with David Lynch's Blue Velvet or Gus Van Sant's early films, it's hard to make sense of the fact that Treasure was released in the heart of the 1980's. It doesn't belong there. It doesn't match the roaring Reaganian optimism or the gloomy Thatcherian despair of the time, as championed by The Smith (that released Hatful of Hollow, that same year). It's Cocteau Twins, and it's a genre, an aesthetic and a mood of its own. (VG+/VG+).

Tracklist

1. Ivo
2. Lorelei
3. Beatrix
4. Persephone
5. Pandora (For Cindy)
6. Amelia
7. Aloysius
8. Cicely
9. Otterley
10. Donimo