 Cocteau Twins Song for song, one of the strongest Cocteau Twins records. Sunburst and Snowblind came out just before Head Over Heels, on the cusp of the band's most prolific and creative period. From 1983 to 1986 they put out three albums and like eight EPs, all of staggering quality. This one benefits from some of their best-ever songs. "Sugar Hiccup" is the quasi-"single" ("singles" for the Cocteau Twins not exactly being chartbusting hits), one of their finest moments, swirly and catchy, hinging around the improbable phrase "Sugar hiccup on Cheerios." "From the Flagstones," for any other band, would be a shimmering high point, though it's so much like so many other Cocteau tunes that it settles into "average" status. Though as with Prince and The Cure, average is a relative thing, and b-sides are frequently better. Case in point: the haunting "Hitherto," maybe the #2 or #3 Cocteau song of all. Holy shit, is this song amazing. I can't wait to overthrow the country and establish it as the new National Anthem. The sound of 65,000 baseball fans trying to emulate the web-like vocal lines would be incredible. At the very least, I hope it's played at my funeral next week. The last track is the most surprising, the upbeat "Because of Whirl-Jack," perhaps the closest the Cocteaus ever came to Pat Benatar – it's their "All Fired Up." Like "2 Late" by the Cure, it's a b-side that dwarfs most bands' hit singles. Most bands' entire output, actually. Four songs, fourteen minutes of Middle Earth alt-rock. It's a bad night's sleep in a jewel case, and simultaneously a dream vacation.
Review by Dagwood Donnell |