Customer Reviews

Garlands

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Please note that this is a comment of the REMASTERING job of this CD. The original always had a very dry, cold sound that fit the music very very well. I know that Guthrie is not a fan of his earlier albums, and on all 3 early records (this one, Head Over Heels, and Treasure) he seems to have run with the technology available to re-create instead of just simply remaster. The CD suffers because of this. Whereas the original Garlands was appropriately flat - this one sounds like the album was recorded in a tin can. I'm very glad I held onto my original import edition of this - which also is sadly out of print due to this monstrosity. (Two of the bonus tracks, first issued on a flexidisc, on the original import have been axed, and do not appear on anything else) ... Keep your old Capitol or (old) 4AD editions ... or get the vinyl. Just upsetting.

This may me the most underappreciated Twins release. It seems to exist in sharp contrast to their later sound, although it's dark, minimalist, industrial sounds seem to echo through "Head Over Heels", another great early Twins album. THis album stands on it's own as an art piece... and furthermore, this is the only LP with Bassist Will Heggie, who left the Twins to join another Grangemouth band, Lowlife. His bass playing alone is reason enough to own this album. "Blind DUmb Deaf" rocks!

I have been a passionate listener of Cocteau Twins for longer than seems possible, and until I looked up Amazon in order to replace my copy of Garlands (mine being rode hard and put up wet)I had no idea that this album was unpopular or considered to be a poor representation of the band's work. I am startled by these reviews; certainly Garlands is not, what? Milk & Kisses? But why should it be? Turgid and dissonant, dreamy and atmospheric, it is the perfect and neccesary foil to their later work.

In 1982, Cocteau Twins already had the murky, shimmering wall of guitar sound they were looking for. Back then, the noise was distorted and feedback laden. The vocals were unharmonized and close to decipherable. Liz sang in her haunting mid-range, and the music was minimal, underwritten and dark, relying on only a couple alternating melodies for each song's duration.

Comparisons to Joy Division and The Cure make some sense, although this album has a chaotic, wicked, mysterious delirium about it that those bands never captured, opting instead for bleak, intense depression. This is the only album in the Cocteau's entire catalog that is completely the missing positive, lilting shoegazer hit material such as "Pearly Dewdrop's Drops" and "Sugar Hiccup". Their new age, "dreamy" soft white aesthetic had yet to emerge.

This is not the say "Garlands" is one-dimensional; far from it. If anything, the vague, unrefined simplicity of these slabs of distortion makes them more open to interpretation than the much catchier songs on the two albums that came after this, "Head Over Heels" and "Treasure".

As always with this band, it's Liz's vocal performance that makes the album. She proves that even though the intense harmonization (5+ voices at once) of later albums is incredibly beautiful, it is not necessary. Her singing here slides up and down in pitch, and warbles with emotion in that distinctly Scottish way. Each Cocteau Twins album had its own vocal style, but here is the only time we hear her voice unaltered, singular and clean, and for this reason alone this album is worth it for any fan of hers.

The album is enjoyable as a whole, although not diverse like "Head Over Heels" or "Treasure" (after that they adopted a more thematic approach to structuring albums). Highlight tracks include the dizzyingly strange "Wax and Wane", the emotionally indescribable "Blind Dumb Deaf" and probably the catchiest track on the album, "But I'm Not".

The remastered production is as clear as it is possible to make this kind of music.

In conclusion, even if the band did improve exponentially with age (as this reviewer believes they did), Cocteau Twins' debut album "Garlands" is a great album on its own merits, they had yet to find their sound, but this sound has an appeal all its own.

The cocteaus have proven to be one of the most innovative bands in the world. With that said, garlands was like the seed planted of what was to come in their career. This album can only be described as, dark, damp, menacing, and droning. Which makes it no less wonderful as their future releases. Garlands definatley stands in a category all alone, because it is so different than what would become their "etheriel" sound. If you are a true fan of the cocteaus, you will give this one a chance. It isnt as accessable as their latest efforts, but no less fascinating.

How ironic it is that I find myself exploring this band. Several years ago I met a man online who enjoyed the so-called Old School Gothic music scene. Bands of the likes of Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, etc, though none so obsessively as his two favourites, Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Cocteau Twins. While I introduced him(and converted him) to Depeche Mode, he introduced me to SATB, which has since become a coveted favourite in my music collection that has helped shape my opinion of art rock and goth rock, as well as forever alter my own twisted musical tastes. However it was different with the Cocteaux, I was utterly unimpressed and uninterested in their whimsical, dream-pop offerings, nothing against them but they simply wern't attune to my preferences.

The so recently as last week I happened to notice the BBC sessions live at Barnes and Noble and, having found nothing else of interest to listen to, I decided to sample the CD. Boy was I pleasantly surprised with the sounds I heard. It inevitably led me here, to the bands' maiden and astoundingly twisted roots. I am under the understanding that this album is NOT a popular favorite among fans of the band...understandable if it's those soothing dreamscapes you're craving. However GARLANDS happens to be a very satisfying, very GOTHIC sounding experience for me which has left me tickled...gloomy =)

Some say that they can't understand the comparisons between CT singer Liz and Siouxsie. I can't understand how they can't not. The glaring similarities were quite evident to me mere seconds after first hearing Liz's deep howling voice with all it's distortions and neighing and heavy abrasiveness paired with heavy monotonous synths and absolutely devastating guitar riffs that sound quite reminiscent of another album that came out around the time of this( Can anyone say JUJU? ) But don't get the notion that this is a by any means a copy--it isn't, and for as many similarities there are to SATB, there are differences. Liz's voice, even at it's most disturbing, always retains a certain degree of feminity and innosence, as though you could tell that she would eventually become destined to sing soft and angelic songs further down the road. Also, Liz is much more comfortable and at ease with her impressive musical range as compared with Siouxsie, who I always felt had to strain to hit those deep high notes. Also, don't expect to sing along comprehensively, most of Liz's singing is pretty indecipherable, but unless you're a stickler for great lyrics being at the forefront of a song, this isn't a problem. But anyway, enough of this, onto the album...

If ever there was a song that clearly defined the grim darkness and menacing tone of the whole album, or anything grim for that matter, "Blood Bitch" would be it. As indicated by such a title, this song is not for the faint of heart. It has a brooding pace and absolutely screeching guitar riffs that pierce through you like daggers. I could easily imagine this song playing in the background of a Friday the 13th during a murder or chase scene. Yes, it's just that twisted and while it's not one of my favourites of the album, it's definitely a statement piece that will baffle you on how they ever went from this to such tamerworks as "Milk and Kisses".
Next up is "Wax and Wane", which started it all for me when I listened to it at B&N on the BBC sessions CD. It's a straightforward song with a nice Mid Tempo beat to dance to and perhaps chance a guess to sing along to. "But I'm not" is one of my favourites, quite possibly THE fave of the album for all it's gripping tension in the chords paired with vocals that fluctuate from low and detatched to screechy and as frantic as the music itself. Just delightful and makes my skin crawl! "Blind Dumb Deaf" continues with searing chords and lightens the mood ever so slightly with a more complex melody that I'm sure filled the dancefloors of many goth clubs back in the 80's. This is really very reminiscent of SATB's "A Kiss in the dreamhouse" or "Tinderbox", which means that this sounds a little bit ahead of it's time. "Shallow then Halo" is my other fave here and is the most restrained of them all here. It's a dark moody ballad that cuts back on all that dark guitarwork that creates a feel that is both haunting and beautiful. "The Hollow Men" and "Grail Overfloweth" also continue this more subdued pace but with more dark grimness and chantlike vocals. "Garlands" is actually the brightest sounding and most accessable of the bunch, which explains why it was the featured single off this album. But don't worry, it's still pretty dark and yet another great song.

So now I intend to buy more CT albums though I know that they wont be quite as distrubing as this one. I intend to stop after "The Pink Opaque", which supposedly marks the end of CT's early dark period sound. Liz's voice is beautiful and I'm sure that her later works are stunning, but just simply not my cup of tea( But we'll see ). As for the man who turned me onto Siouxsie as well as now this band, I cannot thank enough. For he has enriched my life immensely by turning me onto these great bands that you simply don't hear about in the the mainstream. I lost touch with him a long time ago but maybe one day he will stumble across this review and know that he finally ended up converting me afterall, So...Thanks =)

The Cocteau Twins' first album, Garlands, could almost be an entirely different band. There are only occasional hints of what would come on later albums like Treasure, Victorialand, and Heaven or Las Vegas, where they cemented their reputation as leading lights of the dream pop and forerunners of the shoegazer movements. Yes, there's the sometimes ethereal vocals of Elizabeth Fraser and the shimmering guitar of Robin Guthrie--although here his guitar usually screeches and wails as opposed to shimmers, but they haven't quite perfected their sonic dreamscapes yet. Here, they sound like a classic post-punk band. Other reviewers have noted similarities to the Cure during their dark period (circa Seventeen Seconds and Pornography) and Joy Division. Those are apt comparisons, as this would fit in with either Pornography or Closer on shuffle play. This is an album of dark moods, dirge-like sounds, and deep, low bass. The bass is indeed the primary instrument here. The atmosphere of the record is dark and downright creepy, throughout. Just check out the title track as one example. Interestingly, you can even understand half of the lyrics that Elizabeth Fraser sings on this album, and they include words like rosary, blood, die, devil, etc. It's not exactly a happy album. Some fans of their later work would likely find this album a modest, odd curiosity. This album is more likely to appeal to fans of those classic darker albums by the Cure than people who swooned over the Twins' later dreamy work. Still, for what it is, it is a very interesting listen. Just don't expect late-period Twins going in, and you might even enjoy it. Definitely a recommended album.

This is their first album. The quality of the production is okay. However, their later albums are produced better and are more recommended for first time listeners of the group.
If you are a big fan of the Cocteaux Twins and are interested in hearing everything they have done throughout their entire career, I would recommend buying this lp to complete your collection.

Eleven years ago, my girlfriend introduced me to the Cocteau Twins through the album "Four Calendar Cafe." As a pleasant and airy contrast to the mostly loud and abrasive music I was listening to, I enjoyed the dream pop that Cocteau Twins had to offer in their later catalog. They were certainly a unique and creative band, and when I heard that this, their first album, was starkly different than anything they undertook later, especially albums like FCC, I never really gave it a chance.
Fast forward through time and a steady working backwards through their works, aided especially by the superb "Lullabies to Violaine" compilation, and I find myself holding this cd in Austin, Texas on a whim. By then the Cocteau Twins had earned that all-important trust from me that any great band cultivates in its listeners. On the strength of that trust I plunked down the money.
I now hold a new favorite. This album is different from their other efforts in every way imaginable, but it's tough to not wish they did at least another one in the same vein. It has a harsh, concentrated, wild feel to it, and a dark heart that pulses through every song. Onetime bassist Will Heggie only appeared on this recording and the Peppermint Pig EP before Simon Raymonde replaced him, and he provides the base-line for contrasts with the rest of Cocteau Twins history. (see what I did there? har-har) His bass announces its dominance in the first chords of the opener, Blood Bitch, and drives every song throughout. It uniquely sets the tone: throbbing, intense malevolence in "Blood Bitch," lunatic weird in "Wax and Wane," watery menace in "Shallow Then Halo"(with two or three simultaneous bass tracks),and a straightforward, dark brooding presence in the spooky "Grail Overfloweth." With a few exceptions, Robin Guthrie's guitars are really an accompaniment.
The guitars are indispensable and remarkable in their own right, however, even if they are not the focal point. They add a haunting wail that raises every song to its most disturbing and otherworldly heights. It is difficult to provide descriptive adjectives that do their importance justice: the guitars echo, caterwaul, screech, and reverberate with a beautiful but twisted lunacy. At the center of it all is the one-of-a-kind vocal talent of Liz Frasier. Her range is incredible, but here it only goes where the atmosphere requires it. It can be harsh, it can be crazy, and it is difficult to understand, but as always, it is perfect for the album in which it appears. If you've heard her light, layered and angelic efforts on other albums, what she does here will blow you away for its darkness and nearly violent passion.
It's as if the fairy-land shimmer of the Cocteau Twins took an evil turn and transported the listener to a bacchanalian gathering in a haunted woods. It's unique, unforgettable, and one of the best cds I've picked up in a long time.

The first and arguably the best of Cocteau Twins. The lilting Fraiser and heavy watery bass is still my favorite of all the C.T. albums, I have the original and I cannot say how the re-issued remastered version compares