Customer Reviews

Lullabies

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4 star:		(1)
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As a fan of CT's earliest material, this 3-track EP is not only my favorite from the pre-"Head over heels" era, but also, in my opinion, one of the band's most satisfying efforts. As with the preceding debut album "Garlands", people who only know the band's ethereal mid-'80s work will be surprised or even alienated by the musical content of "Lullabies". It leans more towards the electronic edge of CT's sound; its dark atmospherics, rumbling bass lines, spiralling guitar figures, and ever-present drum machines offer clear connections to the early-'80s goth-rock movement. However, those who find the songs of "Garlands" a little too static and similar in sound might find solace in this more varied and accomplished EP. "F-O-B" starts things off with surprisingly danceable material - this is perhaps the strongest song of CT's early era, and Liz's vocals are half-way intelligible. As the title indicates, "Alas dies laughing" is moodier and more aggressive in comparison, with shrill, sharp-edged guitar parts and ominously droning bass playing. The 8-minute "It's all.." is a stand-out track in many ways - it's not only the band's longest song ever, it's utterly unlike anything in the Twins's catalogue. "It's all.." begins with incidental music, obviously cut from guitar feedback, and adds some distant moaning and laughing to the mix. The song itself is pretty powerful and claustrophobic, featuring echoed drums and detuned guitars which become even more distorted towards the end of the song. "Lullabies" may not be their best and most original release, but the experimental, menacing undercurrents of this disc have their own compelling appeal. This is a very recommendable item for fans (others should check out the more comprehensive box set "BBC Sessions"), often overlooked and underrated, and it illustrates why the Twins soon would be considered as one of the most important independent bands of the '80s.

"It's All But An Ark Lark", the longest track Cocteau Twins ever recorded, is one of my favorite among Cocteau Twins' compositions. A luminous yet ultimately mysterious song of great power. It's like an incantation. An outburst of emotion, frustration of life, of being alive, hope, desire, and almost resignation. Love, life, death & solitude. To be merged in twilight. 8 minutes of bliss.

It's All But An Ark Lark builds the simple, swirling repetition of young Frasier's sighs, chantings, and cries into an emotional explosion like none other ... the EP is worth it for this epic song alone.

Lullabies is a three-song EP by Cocteau Twins, released shortly after their debut album Garlands. The EP is almost as hard and gloomy as that album, but the songs are less monotonous and the production and instrumentation is beginning to develop a hi-tech futuristic sheen that really shows of the band's potential for the first time. The drum programming is infinitely more interesting, Robin Guthrie's guitar technique has gotten stronger and less reliant on effects processors, Will Heggie's basslines are more melodic and lower in the mix, and Elizabeth Fraser's singing sounds confident and impassioned. The songs aren't their most memorable, but Cocteau Twins are really starting to hone their craft on Lullabies.

"Feathers-Oar-Blades" is upbeat and triumphant and layered, sounding like nothing the band had done before. "Alas Dies Laughing" sounds the most like Garlands filler, but much better crafted.

"It's All But An Ark Lark" is the real jewel. Opening with queasy industrial noise and panting vocal loops, it launches unexpectedly into a sound-painting that is somehow both hazy and crystalline. It veers deftly between haunting darkness and optimistic beauty, maintaining a cryptic and surreal mood throughout. Fraser's vocal melodies skip about unpredictably; and even though her voice is loud and clear in the mix, very few words can be discerned. Guthrie's guitar shimmers and sparkles, free from all of the over-distortion of his earlier efforts. He uses effects here not to hide his technical inadequacies, but to warp his clever countermelodies into alien soundscapes that bear little resemblence to any familiar terrestrial instruments. Heggie too has come a long way, now utilizing the upper register of a fretless electric bass to achieve fluid slides and harmonic drones, lending to the hypnotic qualities of the music. The composition of the song is light years beyond anything the band has composed up to this point - confusingly structured and spanning over eight minutes. This isn't goth rock anymore. This is Cocteau Twins finding themselves suddenly and unexpectedly as a child recognizing itself in a mirror; and finding their reflections to be visionary, druggy, and otherworldly.