| features in: Album Chart of 1982 → ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1980s → |
As Lou Reed said, when you're growing up in a small town you say, 'No one famous ever came from here' and you think that you'll never escape it. This trio, all born and bred in Grangemouth, dared to dream, and this fine opening statement got their story underway, somehow echoing the bleakness of their industrial hometown. On their debut, they line-up: Elizabeth Fraser (18, vocals); Robin Guthrie (20, guitar, drum machine) and Will Heggie (~20, bass guitar). Acknowledging a punk heritage (they were named after a Johnny & The Abusers song) and a post-punk influence (some Joy Division and Siouxsie & The Banshees motifs are clear), the debut set of 8 songs arrived in September '82. Considering their background and distant location from the artistic epicentres, they did very well to get noticed so far and wide so quickly.
Approaching the Birthday Party in '81 paid off, as they were encouraged to send a demo to Ivo Watts-Russell at 4AD. From there, a promo 7" acetate, “Speak No Evil”, was sent to John Peel, who put it on regular rotation for a couple of months. A session for Peel followed in the summertime, further raising the group's profile. Still, there were no public record releases, with plans for a debut single being mysteriously shelved in favour of a covert strategy whereby the critics would have promo copies of “Garlands” in their hands in the summertime.
Almost as if laying down a manifesto, the record stubbornly refuses to be lucid, preferring to exist in a smoggy grey. You can hear that they're angling for some sort of new sound and they find it immediately to a certain extent, with the atmospheric sound and Liz Fraser's dexterous quaver, which left an especially distinct mark. Some on-the-ball critics were ready with their praise for this promising starter; the Cocteaus were on their way.
The Jukebox Rebel
05–Mar–2006
| Tracklist |
| A1 | [04:34]  Cocteau Twins - Blood Bitch (Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Will Heggie) Post-Punk |
| A2 | [04:04]  Cocteau Twins - Wax And Wane (Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Will Heggie) Post-Punk |
| A3 | [02:45]  Cocteau Twins - But I’m Not (Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Will Heggie) Post-Punk |
| A4 | [03:46]  Cocteau Twins - Blind Dumb Deaf (Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Will Heggie) Post-Punk |
| B1 | [05:16]  Cocteau Twins - Shallow Then Halo (Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Will Heggie) Moodcore |
| B2 | [05:02]  Cocteau Twins - The Hollow Men (Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Will Heggie) Post-Punk |
| B3 | [04:32]  Cocteau Twins - Garlands (Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Will Heggie) Post-Punk |
| B4 | [05:22]  Cocteau Twins - Grail Overfloweth (Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Will Heggie) Moodcore |
