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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
underrated and overlooked, but very well done, May 23, 2002
This is perhaps a more guitar-oriented album than most other Cocteau Twins albums; the roaring gothic guitar lines of Robin Guthrie dominate the soundscape, but without displacing Liz Frazer's deadly vocal stylings, which seem more sweet on most future releases. It's a chilling, very gothic piece of work. Though their first lp, it reveals a different side of the Twins' music."Garlands" came out in 1982, so it belongs to a scene and an aesthetic very different from the one that the Twins belonged to in the mid-80s. Think of Joy Division, Lydia Lunch, or early Siouxsie and the Banshees. The mid-80s indie and alternative scene, or at least the part of it that the Twins identified with most, was less intensely morbid or dark than the dense post-punk that had preceded it; so that a later Twins album like Treasure has a certain aesthetic identification with New Order or the Smiths. In fact, the change that the Cocteau Twins underwent mirrors the one by which Joy Division morphed into New Order. It was actually a very good thing that the aesthetics changed, but on "Garlands", you can hear a band that easily holds its own with (and even surpasses) something like "Pornography"-era Cure.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
get the import version!!, February 22, 2001
If you were to listen to the Cocteau Twins music in chronological order, a steady and firm progression from this album to their last is obvious. So Garlands, being their first album, sounds very raw and different from their later stuff; which is a product of years of refinement and aging.But with that said, Garlands is just excellent. It's spacey, minimal, and a bit dark. But somehow the whole is so much more than the parts. Liz's voice is not as well developed here as in later offerings, but still manages to offer a very unique feel. Robin and Will provide guitar and bass respectively, and a very simple drum machine provides percussion. The end result is a barren, but great album. I really love Garlands. But do keep in mind this sounds nothing like almost anything they've ever done. If you already have some Cocteau Twin albums and want to give this a try, be prepared for something very different If you already have this and love it as much as I do, track down Lullabies. It's in a similar mode as Garlands. Finally, GET THE IMPORT! If you can find the import of Garlands, it has 6 bonus tracks. 4 of which are a session on the John Peel BBC show, and the other two are gems in their own right.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
simply beautiful..., February 23, 2002
out of all the Cocteau's albums, this is the only one i like. just like Dead Can Dance's first album, it totally different from the rest of their catalogue. it's atmospheirc and eerie. it's like The Cure's Seventeen Seconds/Fatih/Pornography with cEvin key of Skinny Puppy doing the 808 drum machine programming. but even that comparison doesn't describe it as well as just listening to it. i love all the tracks. i listen to it from start to finish. Liz's vocals are are so...*sigh*...perfect. Robin's guitars are so...*sigh* perfect. this album is definately gothic...nocturnal...autumnal...wintry...gloomy...a good rainy sunday album...or a good burning-the-midnight-oil album(much like a Joy Division album). it's such a dark and pretty little debut album.
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