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.

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

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

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”.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

If this album had a texture, it would be tinfoil, glitter and dried tears stuck with honey to an amplifier.

Love it. Married my wife here, and have learned in recent years that Las Vegas isn’t heaven, but pretty damn close.

If dream pop as a genre had followed in the footsteps of this album for how varied, layered, and enegetic but wonderful it is instead or the most boring tropes of atmospheric pop, I think the genre would be actually good. Anyway, wonderful album, I feel like I love its sounds more and more as time goes on

Pleasantly surprised, banger of an album

I first stumbled up this album 5 years ago and was instantly mesmerized. The dream-like soundscape mixed with the ethereal almost unintelligible lyrics is a beautiful experience that leaves you feeling like your floating carelessly through the cosmos.

Acho que esse disco é um dos ápices do dream pop para o seu período (e até hj na verdade). Uma combinação tão perfeita entre a voz impecável da Elizabeth Fraser, a sensibilidade pop das músicas desse disco e a sonoridade etérea das guitarras ricas em texturas.

This album feels like bouncing on clouds. 10/10

A masterpiece – and one I've heard countless times. My favorite Cocteaus record frequently flips between HoLV and Blue Bell Knoll, but objectively... Heaven or Las Vegas is probably the clear winner.

A truly dreamy and captivating album, with a surprisingly poppy edge that blends perfectly with its lush, atmospheric soundscape. The vocals and instrumentation merge seamlessly, creating something that feels almost otherworldly, yet still accessible. A cohesive and immersive experience that stays with you long after it ends. 5/5

One of those bands where I find myself listening more to the bands they’ve influenced. I know I like Cocteau Twins, and if it wasn’t for them, most of the bands I adored in the 90s probably wouldn’t have existed, I just rarely listen to them. A wrong I will right on the back of immersing myself in this gem. Some of the tracks, in particular the title track, have somehow been engrained in the psyche over the years, but it was a real treat to hear them again in the context of the album. If you need me, I’ll be down a Cocteau Twins rabbit hole.

They say ignorance is bliss. I don’t know what this album is about, and I hope I never do. Timeless classic. Thank you Liz.

Great

This album finds Cocteau Twins at the height of their powers. The band's sound (which is practically in a genre of its own) reaches full flower on these glorious and mesmerizing tracks.

absolutely beautiful stuff right here.

This is easily in my top ten records of all time. No need to review it. Just listen and you'll know why.

an absolute pleasure to get this album on a beautiful june day! dreamy summer light linen shirt of an album

classic

I love this album so much. It’s my second time listening to it and it’s even better now.

so good

This is the second album on here that I’ve already listened to, and what do you know it’s another favorite of mine.

4.5/5 Opalescent Dreams You Can Drown In Review: This isn’t an album. It’s a shimmering hallucination wrapped in a Scottish fog. Elizabeth Fraser’s voice doesn’t sing — it levitates. The words are half-coherent, like overhearing an angel speak in a language you almost remember from childhood dreams. Every track is like falling in love mid-fainting spell.

I find this such a pleasant listen all the way through. I also really enjoy made up lyrics since I can never tell real ones. whenninevveneahlafivestars

I'm a big shoegaze/dreampop slut, so I'm biased, but this is one of the best earlier albums of the genre. I've already listened to this album a couple times before and it don't miss. Just listened to it again two more times.

This one is pretty damn good. One of my favourite albums of all time. Definitely not my favourite Cocteau Twins album, but that just goes to show how good the Cocteau Twins are. This album's vocal performances are such an incredible display of raw emotion. Some tracks are beautiful, some tracks are sad, some tracks are happy, some tracks are bitter. If you try to attach English lyrics to it, you miss the point-- you are speaking the wrong language.

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