Cocteau Twins were a Scottish dream pop band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) andWill Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde in 1983. The group earned critical praise for their distinctive ethereal sound and the soprano vocals of Fraser, whose lyrics often abandon recognisable language. They pioneered the 1980s alternative rock subgenre of dream pop.
Their debut recording, Garlands (released by 4AD in 1982), was an instant success, peaking at number 2 in the indie albums chart in the UK. In 1983, the band released a second EP, Peppermint Pig. Cocteau Twins’ sound on their first three recordings relied on the combination of Heggie’s rhythmic basslines, Guthrie’s minimalist guitar melodies, and Fraser’s voice. The band’s next full-length album, Head Over Heels, relied solely on the latter two, following Heggie’s amicable departure after the tour that followed the release of Peppermint Pig. This led to the characteristic Cocteau Twins sound: Fraser’s voice, by turns ethereal and operatic, combined with increasingly effects-heavy guitar playing by Guthrie (who has often said that he is far more interested in the way the guitar is recorded than in the actual notes being played, though he later admitted that his reliance on effects and layering was initially due to his own technical limitations).
In 1983 the band participated in 4AD’s This Mortal Coil project, which spawned a cover version of Tim Buckley’s “Song to the Siren” performed by Guthrie and Fraser). Despite appearing under the This Mortal Coil name, the cover has subsequently become one of the best-known Cocteau Twins tracks: in 2012, Dawn French selected “Song to the Siren” on Desert Islands Discs as, in her words, “The song that made me fall in love again”. During the TMC sessions, Guthrie and Fraser became acquainted with another project contributor, multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde, who joined Cocteau Twins later that year.
. The addition of Raymonde solidified their final lineup, which produced The Spangle Maker EP (containing their biggest hit in the United Kingdom, “Pearly Dewdrops Drops”, peaking at No. 29 on the UK Singles Chart) and their third studio album, Treasure in 1984. With Raymonde, the band continued to release a series of critically acclaimed albums and EPs that explored their new style.
While remaining a 4AD band internationally, Cocteau Twins finally signed a major-label contract with Capitol Records in 1988 for distribution in the United States, and released their fifth album, Blue Bell Knoll, in September of that year. “Carolyn’s Fingers” became the band’s biggest hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 2 on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart.
The group released Heaven or Las Vegas in late 1990. The most commercially successful of their many recordings, the album rose to the higher reaches of the UK Albums Chart immediately after its release. Despite the success of the record and the subsequent concert tours, not everything was well with the band. They parted ways with 4AD following Heaven or Las Vegas partly because of conflicts with the label’s founder, and were close to breaking up over internal problems due in large part to Guthrie’s substance abuse. In 1997, while recording what was to have been their ninth LP, the trio disbanded over irreconcilable differences in part related to the breakup of Guthrie and Fraser. While a number of songs were partially recorded and possibly completed, the band has stated that they will likely never be finished or released in any form.
