Cocteau Twins: Garlands Vinyl LP
$25.95
<p><i>Unpopular opinion but this is the coolest <a href="https://www.turntablelab.com/search?q=cocteau+twins" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Cocteau Twins</strong></a> record.</i> It was their first-ever release on 4AD or any other label, with no single or EP preceding it; cut before they learned to be ethereal but still fantastical and unintelligible as shit. Ice-cold 808 snares crack through blazing sheets of post-punk guitar, strung up with razor wire. Bewitched Liz shrieking (in her normal range too; there’s almost no falsetto) through a flange unit, hollowing out any man in her path. I imagine at the time this seemed like a feminine counterpoint to <a href="https://www.turntablelab.com/search?&q=The%20Cure&filter=Brand/Manufacturer/Artist_fq:%22The%20Cure%22" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>The Cure</strong></a>’s <a href="https://www.turntablelab.com/search?type=product&q=The+Cure+goth+trilogy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">goth trilogy</a>, but while <strong>Bob Smith</strong> & co. sulked around in their dejection, <a href="https://www.turntablelab.com/search?type=product&q=Liz+Fraser" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Liz Fraser</strong></a> and <a href="https://www.turntablelab.com/search?type=product&q=Robin+Guthrie" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Robin Guthrie</strong></a> sound urgent as hell, as if they’re compelled by an evil spell to transmit these sounds. A thousand times cooler and more ferocious than any <a href="https://www.turntablelab.com/search?type=product&q=Siouxsie+And+The+Banshees" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Banshees</strong></a> record. Check out “Blood Bitch,” “But I’m Not,” “Blind Dumb Deaf,” “The Hollow Men” and “Grail Overfloweth.” With the re-release of this and <a href="https://www.turntablelab.com/products/cocteau-twins-victorialand-vinyl-lp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Victorialand</em></a>, all of the Cocteaus’ proper studio albums for <a href="https://www.turntablelab.com/search?&q=4AD" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">4AD</a> are now thankfully back in print. Remastered from the original analog tapes with artwork faithful to the original 23 Envelope designs and code for digital download. Recommended.</p> <ul> <li>black vinyl pressing</li> <li>remastered from original analog masters</li> <li>digital download included</li> <li>music label: 4AD 2020</li> </ul> <h6>reviewed by Peppermint Pig 03/2020</h6>