Heaven Or Las Vegas

I can't believe I get to listen to this album. The vibes are immaculate, just perfection. It's like floating along warm summer air. Everything feels so purposeful in it's placing, with every sound, word, and visual just lifting the album above levels I didn't know could exist. My only complaint is that it gets a little same-y here and there, but man I can forgive that with how beautiful it all is. Perfection.

Oh my God. Who let this be such utter perfection? This was really really really good. Wow. The atmosphere. The vocals. 10/10.

The mystery of the lost great Cocteau Twins album: What was it on the other side of the recording studio glass that so distracted them when they made this, and what would they have produced if they'd been paying attention? We may never know. I will never care.

Beautiful ephemeral pop that I could listen to on loop forever.

A truly unique dream pop album that doesn't have one lackluster song. Fraser's vocals are the highlight of this album, purring with energy and life. Some of her vocals are unintelligible, but that doesn't take away from the ethereal sound. The guitar work and drums are amazing as well, complementing the vocals perfectly and coalescing to provide the unique soundscape. The band complements each other so well yet you get the impression of improv. Not to say it isn't focused, which it is, with songwriting about childbirth and also death. Favorite tracks: Cherry-Coloured Funk, Iceblink Luck, Fifty-Fifty Clown, Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires

It's not exactly BAD but it sure is super boring. There's nothing–literally nothing–about this album that stands out except for the fact that the vocals are utterly indescipherable which takes the album from a "meh" 3 stars to a "nope" 2 stars.

I can not tell what language this is

Great atmospheric album. Definitely worth the listen.

Cool and dreamy - good drum machine work and the bass in quintessential 80s. Probably the lyrics and vocals are the most memorable. Got me on a shoegaze kick after and I listened to My Bloody Valentine for awhile.

Can you believe we wrote this beauty off as “their commercial album” when it cam out? Lush, sensual, prickly in spots and featuring some Elizabeth Fraser’s most aggressive, full-bodied singing and toothsome lyrics. Only the Twins could make this kind of music while “selling out”.

hypnotic, psychedelic, and poetic. complex rhythms and melodies paired with beautiful tones and reflective lyrics. fav songs = all

5.0 + It's hard to pinpoint why this album makes me feel like soaking in a hot bath. There's some kind of strange alchemy between the shimmery guitar and vocals that's mesmerizing. It's a gentle swirl of arpeggiated synth lines, thumping bass and soothing vocal wisps. At times, my mind gets lost in the background sounds and I'm put in a smiling trance.

I'm not sure I'll ever fully understand people who do not love the Cocteau Twins. I'm sure there are some very nice people, we are just different on a fundamental level. This album is like an old jumper you have had forever that you put on when you get sick, a comfort blanket. The Cocteaus at the poppiest they got, and probably the most fully formed. One listen to Fotzepolitic and I could take on the world. Bliss.

Ethereal but grounded. Incomprehensible but clear in their messages. The Cocteau Twins are one of the most antithetical bands I've come across, and this may just be their masterpiece. Elizabeth Fraser is such a unique talent.

This is my go-to sleep album along with "Souvlaki" by Slowdive. It makes me feel like I'm levitating. Absolute ethereal perfection. Once the last part of "I Wear Your Ring" hits, I'm instantly teleported into the eighth dimension. Ten out of ten, you already know it.

If there was a zero I would pick that

What’s that you’re saying??? Sorry. Can’t hear your words. Is that French? I literally don’t know.

The dream pop group of all time, its not even my favorite album by them but good god is it good.

#112. While listening to this album you might find yourself wondering who or what is this for. Well let me paint a picture for you. You have begrudgingly agreed to go to a dinner party at one of your wife's coworker's house. You know the one. The one with the combover and the crooked moustache. The one that always touches your arm when he talks to you. With the crack skinny wife in the wispy dress that doesn't speak loud enough to understand what she's saying ever. Every wall in their house is the same shade of off-white and every room has like one or two pieces of furniture, and maybe some stabby brutalist "art." You keep looking over at your wife to see if you can leave yet, because every minute being here is a minute closer to your insanity. And... this is the music that's playing in the background the whole time. Oh, and the brisket they served was dry. 2/5: please don't make me listen anymore

All the songs sound the same. Very winy (as most dream pop goes) and lyrics often abandon recognizable language

like ABBA on acid.

I really like this album. I listen to quite often as background, it's nearly perfect for writing or creating. The songs just drift together with those soft mumbled vocals. I think Treasure is a but better but happy to see this on the list.

I was most familiar with Elizabeth Fraser on vocals for Massive Attack’s Teardrop and discovered Cocteau Twins (and this album) from there.

Perfectly listenable but doesn't thrill me. Another "won't turn it off but won't turn it up" album.

terrible, absolutely terrible

cat ham cat

Was this album in English? Maybe it was French. The lack of clarity of the vocals did add to the dreamy soundscapes of a kind of relaxing, warm fog. In my mind, this should create some sort of timeless feel, but it still sounds like the 90s. I don't know that if that is a good or a bad thing. It's just an observation. Good day.

i'm just a sucker for dreamy, ethereal guitars and vocals to match. this was great.

This sure as hell sent me to Heaven rather than Las Vegas.

Fairly unique, might come back to it

Dreamy indie.... what’s not to love? Nothing!

Headphones on. Sit down in a nice chair. Dream away. Absolutely brilliant and beautiful.

I love that dreamy sound, and this album absolutely drips with it. Hell, they practically invented it. I just wish there were a few more standout tracks, but overall a great album.

Really good gothy dream pop. It lays on the 90s sound a little thick, which is probably because the group pioneered the sound to some extent. Still a bit dated in that regard.

I was on the cusp of giving this a 4, Cherry-Coloured Funk has been a favourite for as long as I care to remember with its haunting synth and contrasting range of vocals, some of which are Kate-Bush-like in nature but ultimately all gel together brilliantly as a song that doesn't go on too long (unlike this sentence). And the rest of the album is, well, alright. But always found myself wishing I was listening to the first track again.

Listened. Shite. Can't tell what she's saying.

Sucked. Can I give 0 stars? Guess we will see what happens. Turns out you cant give zero stars. You have to click at least one to activate the vote button. Consider yourselves lucky Cocteau Twins.

Droll background music.

I still get butterflies within seconds of hearing this album. Lush and dreamy perfection.

Один из самых красивых пост-панк альбомов, которых я когда-либо слушал. Волшебный и мелодичный вокал успокаивает и вводит в некое состояние сна, выходит за границы языкового барьера и передаёт сущность песен не через тексты, а через пение, ну и просто звучит замечательно. А гитары вписываются не менее гармонично - тонущие в тоннах реверба, они тоже создают некий колыбельный эффект, погружающий в умиротворённое состояние, из которого не хочется выходить никогда. (9 - 9.5)

Lovely. No words. A new world.

Cool 80s vibes, with echoey synths and floaty riffs. There's a good amount of reverb on the vocals, it seems, and I don't know if it's that, but I find the woman incomprehensible. I wondered at several points if she was singing in French. I still don't know. Highlight was the title track, 5, Heaven Or Las Vegas. Also, 8, Wolf In The Breast. Vocals on Cherry-Coloured Funk remind me of Shakespeare's Sister. This album is from 1990. I don't know how I didn't come across it before. I may have seen Cocteau Twins on "Now That's" compilations, but I don't think they would have clicked. I'm not blown away by this. It's good, interesting, but would I listen to it regularly or repeatedly, probably not. Three stars seems harsh, four too generous...

Spot the fake Cocteau Twins track name is the quiz round we never knew we needed... a) Iceblink Luck b) Fifty-Fifty Clown c) Socketface Grapefruit d) Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires Some albums just scream 80s at me from the first few seconds and I immediately fear the worst (despite being released in 1990). In fairness, it has some hooks and the overall sound is richer and less cheesy for the most part than I was worried it could be. I find myself quite enjoying the shoegazy production and her vocals somehow both irritate and intrigue me, at times I swear she's singing in a strange foreign language. Spotify doesn't have the lyrics so I never bothered finding out.

Gorgeous synth washes over ethereal vocal melodies. With singing this gorgeous, who cares if you can't undersand the words?

I’m at a 3.5 that I’ll bump up to a 4. Gotta tell you – not used to an album without proper lyrics. I just don’t know that I could personally give a 5 to an album with vocals, but without lyrics, simply because I’m a sucker for storytelling… but I think a 4 means the album was pretty damn good regardless. And this was pretty damn good. Sometimes, soundscapes do make an album, and even though this is a 1990 album, it’s very much the dying gasp of the 1980s in full effect – everything here is a sort of pastiche on every 80s trope and style you could think of musically, and it comes together really well. Vocally, I think she’s got a mesmerizing tone to her voice that usually meshes pretty well with the instrumentals, but occasionally, I think the production blends them together too harshly on some tracks where it just kinda negates the positives of both. That’s not to say there’s any bad tracks here, just some suspect mixing – this is even more of a car album than the last one was, but it’s honestly more of a dreaming album to me (I guess that’s why it’s “dream pop”). I could easily see myself falling asleep to these, or even dreaming up something close to these – good soundscapes with lyrics just out of reach, but the occasionally clear word or two to keep you a little grounded to reality. I just had fun with it – I can’t wax too much about it because the extent of my criticism is “that sounded really good, but sometimes it didn’t,” and that’s kindergarten-level criticism. It’s a very nice listen; it sounds great, it’s relaxing as hell, and while it does go a little bit too long, I think it doesn’t overstay its welcome long enough to be actively annoying. I’m fine with bumping it up to a 4.

Shimmering, dreamy musical confections. Gorgeous arrangements elevated by Elizabeth Fraser's ethereal vocals and expressionistic lyrical style. Listening to this album is the musical equivalent of floating on a cloud. At its best, this is some of the loveliest music you'll ever hear. The quality of the individual songs is a little uneven, but it's overall still a joy to listen to. Launches me straight back to my sophomore year in college. Fave Songs: Cherry-Coloured Funk, Iceblink Luck, Heaven or Las Vegas, Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires, Pitch the Baby, Wolf in the Breast

True to the mission of this project I am glad this record came up on my list. Although this may already belong to my own personal canon of soul-defining albums thankfully this might have been a backup contingency plan. This made an enormous impact on me decades ago. There was nothing else like it, the world was different after I first heard the Cocteau Twins, and still nothing else compares. This record felt like it was an opening and a big break into a wider audience. It also felt like further slipping from an ideal after Treasure that diluted down the drain awash with new age pathos and intelligible lyrics instead of a cosmic brain transplantation. I only wish I could find a giant poster again of the album cover to pin up on my wall as I improvise the lyrics to Pitch The Baby.

This is the sound track to my dreams, the nice dreams though, not the dirty ones I wake up from erect.

Lush, gorgeous. Like a giant blanket. Seems like a great album to get high to. Reminds me of MBV. Favorite tracks are "Pitch the Baby" and "Frou frou Foxes in Midsumner Fires".

Reminds me of Röyksopp.

Well made background music

Not my bag at this time. Some songs are fun but the sound is very dated. Not feeling the gibberish.

Wow, another Cocteau Twins album in my first 130. I had never heard of them before and I continue to be pleasantly surprised. Their ethereal sound and fun harmonies sets it apart. The 80s textures aren’t my favorite, but their creativity overshadows it.

Very synthetic, but in the wrong way for me. The instrumentation feels too sharp and brittle. I preferred “Treasure” over this one, which has a bit more meat to its sound, but Heaven or Las Vegas is not a bad record overall.

Pretty good. Kinda blends together like most Cocteau Twins albums. 7/10

Booring

This whole exercise is so frustrating because I would swear up & down that I like fuzzy dream pop (Beach House, Bat for Lashes, Washed Out, Warpaint, Mazzy Star, etc.) But between these guys and mbv, I'm feeling totally gaslit. Like, this is just...not great. Maybe if the choruses were in English? It all just kind of blends together into a droning nothingburger of a sound landscape that NEVER catches your attention. I guess it's good if you're on a fentanyl bender, but not great if you're actually trying to enjoy what you're listening to. Maybe a low 3 / high 2 kind of scenario - but I'm going with 2 for the fact that this list makes me doubt my own perceptions.

This was ok. I have been meaning to listen to Cocteau Twins. i have now i guess

I could not stay interested in this at all. 2 stars or D+.

Cool ideas, but very one note for every song. Hooks repeat constantly and there always feels like a lack of emotion. The song settle in on one vibe, but what that vibe means is utterly incomprehensible.

Erm... lovely shoegaze soundscape, but genuinely unintelligible lyrics. Enunciate, woman.

Terrible

Not just boring music, but almost painful because of the singer's voice and pronounciation. Not my cup of tea, obviously, but this time I have a really hard time getting how anyone else could stand this let alone consider it a classic.

I'm not sure how this album ended up on this list. I'm pretty sure I could find a better album not on this list in any used record store in the world. Maybe there's political or historical information I'm lacking that would help change my opinion, but I'm not going to waste any more time on it.

"The album was voted 18th of Scotland’s 100 Best Rock and Pop Albums in 2003" My heart breaks for Scotland.

So dreary and uninspiring. Tuneless lift muzak at best. Awful production, tinny with weak drums. With the music being so much of absolutely nothing, at least the lyrics could have been profound, interesting, etc., but no.. might as well be sung in Greek. The inability to pronounce English words correctly is apparently intentional, but just makes the songs frustrating and bizarre to listen to. If I never hear this album again before I die, I will die happy.

Unlistenable

It's good, I just never loved Radiohead

I've never quite settled on an opinion on dream pop, but I've heard some songs from this, and I was pretty confident I would like, but not necessarily love it. However, Cocteau Twins proved me wrong. From the start, the sound of this hooked me, Heaven Or Las Vegas sounds glassy and almost futuristic. It just has a kind of ethereal sheen that I liked a lot more than I thought. Although what I really ended up staying for here is the songs. I had a slow, creeping realization that song after song, Cocteau Twins were sticking the landing. The worst songs on here are engaging and catchy, and the best are really genre defining. The bow on the whole thing is that we end with one of the stronger songs, Frou-Frou Foxes In Midsummer Fires. One other thing I'd like to mention is that the vocals and "lyrics" here are fascinating. The vocals are *very* ethereal, to the extent that almost no lyrics are comprehensible, and in fact, the lyrics aren't published anywhere (again as far as I know). This frames Elizabeth Fraser's voice as an instrument in a way that I usually see in more extreme genres of music with less conventionally sung vocals. Hearing something like this in a context like dreampop achieves a really interesting effect. I really don't have more to say, I was shocked by how much I loved this.

sjukt bra

Liked this one, very poppy, very pleasant in all the good and bad ways... Not 5 stars, but easy a 4 and since it put me in a good mood, 4.5.

One of my Top 10 favorite albums of all time. Delicious. Ethereal. Perfection.

Will always be a top 20 fav album ever

Min favoritskiva med Cocteau Twins är treasure. Denna, deras kändaste, har jag aldrig lyssnat på som album även om låtar som heaven or las Vegas och cherry coloured funk finns med på alla spellistor med någon slags dream pop koppling. Till saken är att det är en otrolig upplevelse att möta detta i albumformat. En mer distinkt produktion som lyfter fram instrumentering och melodier med ovanligt mycket pop utan att de förlorar sin essens och egenart som band. Rent objektivt är det deras bästa skiva även om jag har hjärtat i treasure.

One of my Holy Trinity of early 90s dream-pop / shoegaze (along with Loveless by My Bloody Valentine and Souvlaki by Slowdive). Untouchable, totally revolutionized the idea of vocals as just another instrument. You don't try to pay attention to the lyrics; they just swirl around you amidst the guitars and synthesizers. 10/10

oh my goodness oh my god im gonna bust. amazing album very important for me i could talk in depth about the songs but im lazy heaven las vegas very amazing frou foxes very amazing and the rest of them too. anyway here's something i wrote for my shitty rym listening log: this was a very important album in the development of my taste, its where i first got hooked on the taste of that sweet dreamy etherealness provided by dream pop and shoegazers. i dont remember how i discovered shoegaze but the first artist in my shoegaze playlist is wisp so it was probably from tiktok. when i first discovered shoegaze i listened to a bunch of tiktok shoegazers, random songs from the spotify shoegaze playlist, and catherine wheel of all bands. the cocteau twins dont make shoegaze at all but they got me back into dreamy music and theres a lot of dreamy shoegaze out there so it counts. anyway heaven or las vegas was my favorite song for a bit but frou foxes takes a close second. modern me again. that was shitty but idc i love this music so much

Heat stroke dreams

New to me. Absolutely divine. Very ahead of its time.

The fact that this album is so beloved by just about anyone who happens upon it makes me so happy, because if there's any album that deserves to have that effect on people, it's this one. A good chunk of the songs here I've listened to obsessively for many, many years. And while I do enjoy the hazy production that feels like a flashback to the most perfect moments in your life, it's never been what kept me so attached to the music here, ultimately. Instead, the production always just felt complementary to the real star here, vocalist Elizabeth Fraser. She is perfect, her melodies and choruses are irresistible, her falsettos, harmonies, vibratos...everything about her vocals is just angelic. I don't even mind the fact that her voice is drenched in reverb; it just works. I love the way her vocals just hover alongside the atmosphere on the opener 'Cherry-coloured Funk' during that earwormy chorus. The vocal melody of 'Fifty-fifty Clown' feels like something so nostalgic - like the very first memory I could've possibly ever had...whatever it may be. It has this comforting, lulling effect that's the epitome of innocence. The title track, aside from being the most easily catchy song here, is the only time I can consistently understand what Elizabeth is saying (at least in the chorus). Because if there's anything that amplifies this album's already very dream-like atmosphere, it's Elizabeth's very difficult-to-grasp speech pattern. It's what English must sound like to someone who doesn't know English pretty much. While I usually stick to my favorite crop of songs as opposed to revisiting the entire album whenever I want my 'Heaven or Las Vegas' fix, I'm happy I revisited it this time, because I fell in love with two new songs that I had previously neglected for whatever reason. 'I Wear Your Ring' I remember loving, but completely forgot how utterly gorgeous that core vocal melody was. And 'Fotzepolitic' is the other song here that quickly became another favorite, god, it's so fucking good, can't believe I ignored this song for so long. I know I've sort of neglected the rest of the music here for the vocals, but I do want to emphasize that it's the perfect backdrop to Elizabeth. It's a perfect fusion of many '80s new-wavey and post-punk acts (the songs 'Iceblink Luck' and 'Wolf in the Breast' have instrumentals that sound straight out of The Cure's 'Disintegration'), and your more traditional pop-leaning shoegaze '90s stuff like with 'Cherry-coloured Funk'. And the darker closer gives genuine gothic rock vibes. Comfort music. This whole thing feels like a warm hug, blanket, and fire in a giant ice cave. Cocteau Twins really made something special with this album. Life can't be so bad when this exists, I mean it.

-absolutely gorgeous album. I love the Cocteau Twins more each time I hear a song by them… this album was the beginning of my interest in them, I was super into it last year and it sounds better with every listen -I am convinced Elizabeth Fraser is a siren. her voice brings sooo much magic to these songs I can’t even pick which one I like best rip -Favorites are Cherry-Coloured Funk, Pitch The Baby, Fifty-Fifty Clown, and Frou-frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires

Apparently, "the kids" love dream pop, and it definitely seems like the genre has seen a recent resurgence. I'm grateful for this because in the past few years I've taken a closer look at many albums I've slept on. Of these, Heaven Or Las Vegas stands above the rest, a masterpiece of texture.

Our second album consisting primarily of unintelligible lyrics (not that that is a bad thing). Not sure what to say about this one that hasn't already been said. It's just lovely. A sound like no one else.

...so this is what us Scottish people sound like to outsiders?

Perfect album, great morphing of shoegaze with dreampop

My favorite bumper sticker of all time: stop honking I'm trying to figure out what Cocteau Twins are saying

A dizzying dazzlement, a marvelous mosaic of glimmering, gossamer evocations. Who knows what’s being sung when it’s so gorgeously rendered? One has long loved the record but only in listening for this exercise does the stage setting for Sigur Ros become clear. The chamber pop flourishes and structures, the moments of Beach Boyishness, little hints of Joni Mitchell in the phrasings and timbre of RF’s vocals. Fresh, effervescent and Exhilarating are the effects of its peculiar majesty. The closer soars in an understated, elegant sort of way, making one feel like everything will be okay, like a vaguely better (or bettered) person, that the world, sad and ethereal as it so often is, can also be fleetingly and redemptively, beautiful.

I wasn't sure what to expect off this one, but what a delightful surprise. Really lovely dream pop.

Supreme

always loved this one

seeeeeming to beeeeeeeaaaahhh

This was a summer, chill vibe, could easily see it coming out in the 2010s and being relevant as ever. 5*

already known banger

Maybe the sexiest album on the list. This whole album is dripping with a specific kind of tension that makes it a dream to listen to. They really pinoneered a sound all of their own and despite it influencing the shoegaze and dream pop genres, there’s still nothing else that really sounds like it. I could listen to this forever.

Feels euphoric

I started listening to Cocteau Twins this past year, including "Iceblink Luck" off this album. They were a Scottish group formed by guitarist Robin Guthrie and bassist Will Heggie. They started as gothic rock but developed their sound over time and became one of the purveyors of dream pop, a mix of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that placed equal emphasis on atmosphere, sonic texture, and pop melody. This style was well-exemplified in their sixth album, Heaven or Las Vegas. This album felt like putting on a warm blanket, covered in the reverbed bass and drum machine, Robin's guitar hooks coated in ethereal effects, and Elizabeth Fraser's pillowy soprano vocals. The atmosphere never felt overwhelming; rather, there was a purpose to the swell. As for the lyrical content, while Elizabeth's words came off as more impenetrable, there is an emotional arc that she and the band went through. Towards the beginning, Elizabeth expressed her joy in giving birth and welcoming her first child Lucy Belle, particularly on "Pitch the Baby", and there is this celebration of life that is explored. That celebration starts to simmer as Elizabeth reflected on her tenuous relationship with Robin as her partner, particularly on a track like "I Wear Your Ring" where she is taking the role of mother for this child seriously and expected more involvement from him in childcare. The tone of the album grows darker from there, culminating in the closer "Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires", where bassist Simon Reymonde contemplated his father's passing. The transition of themes from birth to death seemed straightforward and well-executed. Heaven or Las Vegas is an amazing offering that showcases the dreamy ambience that Cocteau Twins delivered.

GOAT

Gonna be a perfect addition to my karaoke playlist. Hang on, I’m seeing here… A classic album that encapsulates everything I love about the early ‘90s when it comes to the music scene. It’s iconic, beautiful, and endlessly listenable — super difficult to choose a single standout track off of this one.

really great album. cocteau twins is one of the groups i am really glad i discovered through this project. this album is so cool, so dreamy, from start to finish.

A (thankfully) highly-influential masterpiece that gets better every listen. 🙏🙏 Highlights: Heaven or Las Vegas, I Wear Your Ring, Wolf in the Breast, Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires Lowlight: The silence after the album ends

some people say they wish they could hear a song for the first time again. I feel the opposite here - I wish I could live in the immediate, familiar warmth this album gives me every time, the way listening to the best songs feel like greeting an old friend.