Reviews (page 8 of 13)
Kind of nice. Feels like the songs they play in the movie about the girl pop star in the part she wakes up the day after debauchery realizing she isn't living right and just before she does the high energy reset to get back on track to earning the respect of her 12 year old fans. Parts were like Ween if they didn't huff accelerant, parts were like the Cure without Smith's crooning. I liked it way more than I expected, had never heard or heard of this album. Sad to learn there weren't even twins involved, seems like stolen valor. I wanted to love it but after a couple of listens nothing stood out, can't see myself seeking it out again. 3.8
Highlight guys: Heaven or Las Vegas, Iceblink Luck, Cherry-coloured Funk, Wolf in the Breast and Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires. 3.6
Nicht meins. Guter Rhythmus aber. Bessere Radiomusik
Nice, chill, dreamy music. Would listen again
Another album where you clock the sound and then every track sounds pretty much lthe same. All merged into one as a pleasant enough experience but nothing to write home about.
Have I listened to this album before? No How familiar am I with this album? Completely unfamiliar How do I feel about this artist? I have never heard of them Favorite song(s)? Cherry-Coloured Funk Overall Thoughts: This was pleasant. Fine background music but nothing really grabbed me.
No idea what she’s saying.
Trevligt.. Har egentligen bara hört första låten som då också var den bästa.
Absolutely nails its tone and mixing, really like the vocal runs but I'm more of a fan of a few tracks than the album as a whole
I liked this. I didn’t know any songs on here, but I do know a couple songs by them. Very 90’s, which I love.
Interesting. I missed the more prominent electronic elements and sampling from the other Cocteau twins record I've heard. This is lovely and atmospheric though. I feel I'd want to listen more to judge properly. It nearly passed me by a bit
Nice ambient sounds
Very pleasant listening. At this point that’s about all it is for me. Maybe repeat listening will provide a that elusive burst of clarity
This album is like a lot of drug experiences, there are times where it hits perfect dreaminess, but a lot of it is also just kind of nice feeling airiness, but you'll forget it within a few hours. It's good, but not anything life-changing
Solid dream rock that feels like the precursor to Beachouse. Top tracks: "Cherry-Coloured Funk," "Heaven or Las Vegas," "Pitch the Baby"
Didn’t resonate with me really, but was nice to listen to. Sounds like trippy, fun time
Reasonably enjoyable album. It felt more like an album you'd have on in the background than one to actively listen to, even though I did actively listen to the entire thing. Perhaps it was because I couldn't understand most of the lyrics, as from a production standpoint the singing blends into the instrumentation. Still, the actual riffs and rhythms going on were good enough.
solid album reminds me of tame impala
Fine and forgettable.
Parts of this I liked, but other parts were on the mediocre side
I enjoyed the album, feel like the dream pop genre is becoming popular once more. Not enough to push to a 4.
I'll admit it's better than the last Cocteau Twins we listened to - but it's still nothing I would care to ever hear again.
Its not bad at all, but the album just feels like we are in the middle of something for the whole ride. There really is no beginning and there is no end!
This was pretty and I enjoyed it. I've known many artists whose lyrics were hard to understand. I've known and loved artists who throw in nonsensical lyrics (like The Red Hot Chili Peppers). I've never heard anything like this before.
Really like their sound, her phrasing and melodies are really interesting. I think I never connected fully because, like here, many of the songs are very same-y.
That first chord of this album totally sounds like the begining of the beatles Sgt Peppers lonely hearts club band for a long second. This album was pretty nice. Great music for listening while working. Im gonna play this one again.
Scho oke
Besser als erwartet
War schön, ziemlich chillig...
Pure 80’s in the 90’s
I thoroughly enjoyed this album way more than expected. A solid electronic ethereal vibe with pleasant digestible vocals made for a great mind wandering listen.
The beginning of the album felt to me like it was going to be so boring. In the end, I found I liked a couple songs. It made me feel like a less powerful Roxette. Melodies not as catchy. The music sounds fine, but it just doesn't get me.
Me gusto. Buen sonido con fusiones de distintos géneros. Una voz tranquila que parece que acompaña las melodías a lo largo de los discos.
Sounds good! Definitely iconic sound of 80-90s
I'm glad I finally got to this effort. It's got beautiful art, and I don't have prior memory with any of the track list. It's not exactly my thing, but dream pop has such smooth qualities to it that I can't hate it either. Exquisite vocals, a general airy vibe, musical competency. This sound is what I wish radio-friendly commercial music meant, because I feel it has that potential, but it's still something you have to go out of your way to search for. I don't see myself making the mental effort to seek this project out on my own, a listen on portable speakers wasn't quite as magical which makes me think this production is about the finest details. I'd consider a physical copy for this one, but I could live without it. 3.2/5
Decent background music
Helt ok album. Fint, lite drömlikt. Sångerskan har en underbar röst. Inget som riktigt stod ut för mig, men ska nog lyssna ytterligare någon gång för att se om någon låt fastnar lite mer hos mig.
Not bad, I liked the vibe. Wouldn't turn it off if it was on the radio
Sounds a bit like early pop. Had a French flair with some flighty music and soft vocals. Overall it was an easy listen and the album was over before I even noticed. Would not necessarily listen again but it was a good album with a chill vibe. Would be some good background music for a chill gathering.
Very 90’s vibe, some Cure style with female singers. Couldn’t understand the lyrics but the music was enjoyable. Dreamy, “floaty” synths that seems similar to Kate Bush Fave song: “Cherry-coloured Funk” or “Heaven or Las Vegas”
’ve heard of the Cocteau Twins before. I knew they were an 80s band, but I also thought they were one of those new wave bands that had a solo hit that made it big in the U.S., then went on to become huge in Europe, never to be heard from again over here. Turns out I was off. They are an 80s band, but I’m not sure they ever had a big hit over here, and I’m not sure they were strictly new wave. My good friend Wikipedia tells me that the Cocteau Twins were kind of pioneers of the dream pop or ambient pop sound. Wikipedia has them in the dream pop, ethereal wave, gothic rock, and post-punk genres. But, I’d say, for this album, they were much more dream pop than post-punk. What’s dream pop? Good question. Dream pop is alt-rock/psychedelic pop music that puts more emphasis on the atmosphere or vibe as much as a pop melody. It’s like you're listening to pop music in a dream. At least that’s how I understand it. The album sounds like the 80s, so it wasn’t much different than what you’d hear on the radio in the late 80’s. Heaven or Las Vegas came out in 1990, when the pop music scene was changing, as hair metal soon began getting a ton of radio play on pop music, at least in my neck of the woods. Not that the Cocteau Twins were a radio staple. Track one, Cherry Coloured Funk, sounds like what I would think dream pop sounds like. It’s a vibe. The singer Elizabeth Fraser has a beautiful voice. They tell me she’s a tenor, whatever that means. But she can sing whatever she is. The song reminds me of Best Coast’s California Nights, which I was obsessed with one summer. Track 2, Pitch the Baby, has a more contemporary sound. Again, this song reminds me of another song released in this decade. It’s amazing how the production sticks this album square in the 80s, but the first two tracks sound like they could have been released today, at least with some tinkering with the production. Wikipedia tells me that sometimes Fraser sings unintelligible lyrics. She said it was due to “laziness or bad diction,” but whatever the reason, it adds to the song. Gives it some mystery. Check out Van Halen’s Everybody Wants Some for some great unintelligible lyrics. Track 3, Cherry Coloured Funk, is the first really poppy, happy song. By the by, other famous singers who are tenors are Adele, Wynonna Judd, Cher, Annie Lennox, Lady GaGa, and Sade. In this song, Fraser sounds like Jenny Lewis to me. Which is nice because I love Jenny Lewis. Though Lewis is not a tenor, according to the internet. Track 4, Fifty-Fifty Clown, is back deep in the dream. I love this song. Robin Guthrie, the band’s co-founder, guitarist, and husband of Fraser, starts each recording session by programming the drums for a song, then he and bassist Simon Raymonde begin writing the music. Both Guthrie and Raymonde were flying high on the snow at the time, if you catch my snow drift. Fraser gets the complete song, then adds her lyrics. It’s kind of like the way Tool records, as the band puts the music together, then hands it off to Maynard James Keenan to write lyrics and then record vocals. Track 5, Heaven or Las Vegas, follows suit, with more dreamy 80’s pop. It was written on Wikipedia that the song titles don’t really mean anything. However, the songs were written about birth and death and darker themes as two band members were about to become parents, which was the birth aspect, but two members were cokeheads, which was the death aspect. Track 6, I Wear Your Ring, is one of my favorite tracks on the album. The music reminds me of Peter Gabriel's music from his So album. Fraser's vocals are layered on top of each other. Just a beautiful track. The more I hear of this album, the more I dig it. It’s just got great sounds. In fact, Guthrie and Raymonde played around in the studio, kind of inventing new sounds for the album. Other dream pop acts are Mazzy Star, My Bloody Valentine, Beach House, Bat for Lashes, a lot of bands I’ve heard of, but never listened to. Well, except Mazzy Star. Though they only had the one hit, Fade Into You, but it was a monster. Fade Into You isn’t the best example of what the Cocteau Twins sound like, but both are going for the same thing. I really liked this album. It made me excited to check out more dream pop bands. I’d imagine an album by My Bloody Valentine will be on the list because I’ve heard of them for years and years. If you like any of the examples I’ve given throughout whatever this is I’ve written, then I think you’ll dig this album. It’s going into my rotation of new finds from the 1,001 album list. As for must-listen? If for no other reason than to expand your palette, I’d say it won’t hurt to check it out.
Coincidently have been digging out Cocteau Twins albums recently at the request of the teen in our family, tracing back the influences of her favourite band. Despite not knowing the band at all, this is a familiar sound and clearly an influence on one of my fave bands id the 1990’s ‘All About Eve’. I think the Cocteau Teins will be listened too now more input household, but probably not by me. 3. I can take it or leave it Not going to choose a fave track today. 20/02/23
Yet another album that I wished I liked more, although this time my opinion is largely based on the genre rather than the songs itself. I have never really got shoegaze. Or rather maybe I have, I'm just not very fond of it. It the guitar rifts are great and the vocals should create a feeling of longing and spaceyness thay I normally enjoy, but shoe gaze always seems too... fallacious for me to get anything from. It's a genre for rock needs and stones, and I am neither of those things. With all that said though, if you're intol this kind of music this is should move to the top of your "must listen" list. It's sounds are ahead of it's time thay I've heard many bands who are trying to copy the sounds from this album that it's not even funny. It still sounds new to the day as well, with the mix in the background almost identical to artists I know today. That and Elisabeth Fraser's voice is just spectacular. This album isn't for me, I was bored through a lot of my first listen and only slightly more engaged for my second. But, if you like this genre or style of music, then I highly recommend this album. It is maybe the most definitive shoegaze album I have ever heard. Highlights include Cherry-coloured Funk and Heaven or Las Vegas.
Didn’t enjoy this
Nece konuşuyo bunlar amk
Good, but little too dreamy and ethereal for my tastes.
It hits differently than it did 30 years ago. I understand better where this fits in within the alt music scene. The title track continues to be the standout track
I went into this one expecting to be swept away. People love this album—proper “best of the ‘90s” adoration—so I thought I’d be floating around in some dream‑pop nirvana. Instead… I mostly hovered somewhere between “this is nice” and “wait, what is she even singing?” Musically, it’s undeniably gorgeous. Those shimmering guitars and soft-focus synths feel like drifting through warm clouds—dreamy, ethereal pop exactly as advertised. But the vocals were a real sticking point for me. Elizabeth Fraser’s voice should be the finishing touch, but the heavy effects sometimes make it sound like the track is being played backwards through a kaleidoscope. Add in lyrics that are totally indecipherable, and I found myself more distracted than entranced. I can see why people adore it; there is beauty here. But with the hype, I was expecting a transcendent moment that never really arrived. Good album, but for me, not the masterpiece I hoped it would be.
I get the dreamy vibe but it’s underwhelming
Not my style but a unique sounding album
A few decent tracks, would listen again
I have no strong feelings about this album. It was nice. It wasn’t for me. Hope Julia Loved it!
esta bueno, un par de temas bastante 90's pero creo que tambien en los 90's las demas canciones las tomaban como "experimental". es corto y va a lo que tiene que ir, no da vueltas ni tiene otras 5 canciones para hacerte pensar que estas escuchando las mismas canciones hace 40minutos
Miley cyrus y sabrina carpenter wtf
3.5
This is lush sounding ethereal shoe-gaze music. Comparing to other bands of the genre using Lord of the Rings analogy, My Bloody Valentine are the orcs and Uruk Hai, Bjork is a hobbit and Cocteau Twins are Galadriel, the elf queen. Hovering around 3 stars, I enjoyed this but didn't absolutely love this
Chill. Reminds me of Tame Impala kind of? Friday means listening at home, off the laptop. I like it; probably ~3?
I think her voice was lovely and the music was nice but as an overall album it failed to make an impression on me. It just felt like all the songs were the same. Nice on their own but I wouldn’t listen to the album again. But I might just not have been in the right mood. Fav song: Heaven or Las Vegas Least fav: Pitch the Baby (I think. Really struggled to pick a fav and least fav)
I can imagine in certain moods I'd really like this but in todays mood I found a lot of it boring. Some good songs but a lot of indecipherable mummuring. Favourite song: Cherry-coloured Funk Least: Fifty-fifty Clown
Ticks the boxes for ethereal dream pop, but it was just a little bit same-y for me. Three stars.
Decent lo-fi, ultimately forgettable in the current era.
3/5 - Beautiful dream pop, certainly one of the best early examples, so a spot on the list makes sense. Iceblink Luck and the title track were my favorites, but this genre generally blends into the background too much for me.
Best Track - "Cherry-Coloured Funk"
This was a lovely listen on my Sunday run
Cute album
I enjoyed this album! Very Kate Bush, but I liked the dreamlike sound!
It was fine but I'm not going to remember it
Nice sound. Lots of foreign language songs (or I just can't understand them). I don't get why this is so highly rated. Pitchfork: 10.0 Rolling Stone: Top 500 Albums #245 Best Songs I Wear Your Ring
Ive listened to a few songs in this album so its nice to listen to the full thing but idk im not rlly into this
Another good entry from The 1001 Must Hear List! Never heard of Cocteau Twins, but that was some good ol’ Scottish indie alt rock. Not one song stands out, they’re all listenable. L = (2.75*s) Finally The List gives us a band we’ve never heard of and an album we can listen to in its entirety. J = (3.4*s) Bring on more Scots!
Dreamy soundscapes
Another solid mid. I don't mind the sound honestly. I don't mind the vocal either, but is it English? It's like Prisencolinensinainciusol - oh yeah this sounds English, but no word in particular is distinguishable. It's a bit samey throughout, so it becomes a bit boring, but individually, they'd be alright. Not life-changing or anything. Another solid mid.
Boring, generic 90s background music. Not bad, just not good.
j’aime bien très sympa
Sounds like the precursor to a lot of shoegaze and even modern alt indie music. The gibberish singing is kinda weird but I don't hate it. It has a very particular vibe which would keep me from being able to listen to it whenever, but it has its place.
Sowohl die ruhigen Lieder als auch die energetischen bringen ihren Beitrag zum Album. Trotzdem war mir etwas langweilig beim hören und es hätte mehr experimentieren werden können. Klingt alles relativ ähnlich und manchmal hatte ich das Gefühl, dass wenn man die ersten 3 Lieder gehört hat, man schon das gesamte Album gehört hat. Höhepunkt(e): Iceblink Luck Tiefpunkt(e): Road, River and Rail Rating: 7/10
Joa hab eigentlich nichts schlechtes zu sagen aber auch nichts besonders gutes... Ist gute Musik, die man im Hintergrund laufen lassen kann aber nichts wo ich aufmerksam zuhören muss. Würde sagen sind so stabile normale 3 Sterne. Nicht crazy aber nicht kacke
Liked the music but i like hearing lyrics which is difficult in this album
Te chaotisch voor mij
Heel rustgevend en aangenaam
Not bad. Pretty listenable but that being said I’ll probably never choose to listen to any of these songs again
I rated the other Cocteau Twins album a 4 and I'm giving this one a 3. I don't know that I actually prefer the other over this one - it probably benefited a bit from novelty, as I didn't know the band coming into this - but the average between the two feels right .
No.350/1001 Cherry-coloured Funk 4/5 Pitch the Baby 3/5 Iceblink Luck 4/5 Fifty-fifty Clown 3/5 Heaven or Las Vegas 4/5 I Wear Your ring 3/5 Fotzepolitic 3/5 Wolf in the Breast 3/5 Road, River and Rail 3/5 Frou-frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires 3/5 Average: 3,3 Grand, ethereal sounds packaged with soft pop vocals. Interesting concept, but didn't envelope me so much that I will come back to another listen.
cherry coloured funk is such a classic in my life. sets the tone so well. maybe not my usual style, but i can really appreciate the sound and blending of genres together, and creating a strong blueprint for dream pop
Openingsnummer en titeltrack zijn voor mij de bangers. Grondleggers van het dream pop genre. Ik vind het instrumentaal soms wel veel reverb en andere effecten. Leuk feitje geleerd: ze is de stem van Massive Attack's Teardrop!
Not really my style... Other than chill background music to work to. Not bad.
ethemeral
Great sound, including the impenetrable vocals
nudneeeee
Costó un poco al principio pero estuvo bien. Dream pop la onda, banco. 5/10
This vibe is clearly influential on the 80s tinged pop music of now. Even though i didn’t connect specifically with any of the songs, it’s worth being on the list.
Took me a couple songs to realize this wasn't in English. Where's the coffee?? This is a nice mellow album. I saw it tagged as shoegaze and was worried, but it wasn't bad. 3/5
Nice sound very different
Not for me. Several close friends with great taste have loved this band/album and part of me wants to like it but, it’s not for me.
3.5
A bit of a nostalgia trip. I do very much associate the cocteau’s with the 80’s and student life. A warm fuzzy feeling.
This is very much a specific sound, it lives in that space very well. I can’t understand 80% of the words though, I don’t really understand or appreciate albums without a lyrical purpose.
C'est tu encore du shoegaze ça ? Belle ambiance , assez cohérente du début à la fin. Mais on pourrait aussi dire répétitif/monotone. Ça m'a pas vraiment accroché
Okay - a bit ethereal. Kind of indie pop I guess.
another banger! i liked their voices and could see myself coming back to this album on my own.
I did enjoy listening to it, good background noises, couldn’t understand the lyrics tho, bit confusing but kinda viby. But I am probably not going to listen to it that often if even
The Cocteau Twins' "Heaven Or Las Vegas" is an accomplished dream-pop record. It possesses a brighter, more polished production than their earlier, harder-edged work, offering a tapestry of beautiful melodies and Elizabeth Fraser’s peerless vocals. While its ethereal atmosphere is undeniably pleasant, the album ultimately lacks the necessary grit or variety to maintain my interest throughout. For my tastes, it doesn't quite possess the substance required to push it into the four-star category. Three stars. 1 "Cherry-Coloured Funk" (3/5) 2 "Pitch the Baby" (3/5) 3 "Iceblink Luck" (3/5) 4 "Fifty-Fifty Clown" (3/5) 5 "Heaven or Las Vegas" (4/5) 6 "I Wear Your Ring" (3/5) 7 "Fotzepolitic" (4/5) 8 "Wolf in the Breast" (3/5) 9 "Road, River and Rail" (3/5) 10 "Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires" (3/5) Total - 32 Average - 3.2 209/1001 118/209 albums reviewed were new to me.
dno if im just deaf but didnt really hear a word, all mumble jumble
kinda psychedelic. not what i was in the mood for at the time but pretty good regardless
Doesn't reach me at all.
Soft, dreamy pop sound that was relaxing. Couldn’t understand a lick of what they were saying. 3/5
Ethereal and unintelligible in equal measures - an interesting listen and some genuinely good songs towards the end of the album, but not likely one I'd listen to again.
I honestly couldn’t decide whether I liked this album or not. At times I wanted to turn it off, at other times it washed over me as a beautiful cacophony of noise.
This one is very middle of the road for me, listenable but reasonably forgettable. I'm not sure what it was about the album but I couldn't focus on it as a whole and my mind wondered off to other things.
Maybe it'll grow on me. Felt a bit samey with the reverby guitars. Perhaps it was because I listened to this in the shower and the glass barricade's muffling effect / dysfunctional shower head spurts further obfuscated the already hazy soundscape. Perhaps I need actual lyrics to anchor my ears unto. Need to relisten w/ headphones sometime.
Strong start but in the end gave me high hopes that left me disappointed throughout the rest of the album. Mid.
Not bad. Definition of a 3.
Inoffensive background for me
Écoute agréable mais pas de coup de cœur ni de morceau qui se démarque
My problem with dream pop/shoegaze is always the indecipherable lyrics. Sounds good though as usual
Very good.
2.5
Best enjoyed with a cup of cold weather hold the thunderstorms.
Pleasant, but just sort of nothing.
Shoegazey
Nothing stood out, but the album as a whole was a nice ride
I first listened to this album ~20 years ago and dismissed it because it doesn't really do what I want it to. I've gained an appreciation for it, but it still feels like it splits the difference between a few styles and doesn't go far enough in any direction -- not quite noisy enough, not quite pop enough, not quite dark enough. I understand it has greatly influenced "chill" genres, which seems right -- it feels a bit like taking 2 Benadryl. Sometimes that's nice feeling, but I'm also a bit skeptical of palliative music.
Fraser's vocals are out of this world. Very atmospheric instrumental approach with a mix of electronic and conventional bass / guitar / drum.
Lowkey wasn’t vibing at the start but it got better as it progressed!
NOT THE 70s FINALLY HOORAH -wait i know cherry colored funk already maybe ill like this album cause this song is really good -their sound is pretty modern honestly like i could hear a song like pitch the baby now so maybe early 90s is coming back idk -also reminds me of the cure a little -i like iceblink luck -fifty fifty clown is groovy i like it -WAIT i know heaven or las vegas as well!!! - i also like wear your ring -fotzepolitic sounds familiar -wolf in the breast also sounds vaguely familiar i like the sound though -i like frou frou a lot actually - best album since the abba one - i actually like the sound and would listen to some of these songs again for sure
While CCF is an all timer I found myself not enjoying this as much as I wanted to
Boa, Vibe atmosférica, lembra indies que eu curto
Sounds like they're singing backwards, underwater. But somehow I dig it?? 3.5
Dreamy vocals and arrangements/instrumentation; love the titular track
Obviously, Heaven.
I like it but don't love it
It's nice and cozy, dreamy and I like how it feels so chill. Listened to this album as background music while doing chores and it was perfect. 3/5 —————————————— Liked: — Cherry-coloured Funk — Frou-frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires
Very okay for me. I know it’s technically good but I don’t think it’s for me. 5/10.
Solid
Catchy but not amazing
I feel as if mushrooms or some other psychedelic may be required to fully appreciate this album. Further research required.
beautiful vibes
I was confused when the lyrics for this were no more comprehensible than the yesterday's album by a band from Mali. I still enjoyed the music though - something pleasing about the Cocteaus.
This is a hard one. I really liked them when they came out, we listened to them all the time in college, but after the 3rd song, albeit great, we'd get tired of their sound. I still like hearing certain tracks but never a whole album : )
I never really listened much to this band, but I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this particular album. Her vocals and some of the harmonies are really good. Minus a star because they overuse a dreamy echo effect and you can’t understand the lyrics at all.
I really liked the style of this album. I wasn't familiar with "Cocteau Twins" at all, but will be gladly diving deeper into their repertoire.
Mid 2.5/5
*1990. *This is so incredibly 80s. *I like this style a lot, but nothing about this album/band particularly stands out. RATING - 6.5/10
's alright. 3/5
Mellow. Chill. Good study music
Another one that I've always meant to gove a listen. Unfortunately it easily becomes wallpaper if you just put it on while working , like I did. Interesting though.
Hum
Sonically ok, but I couldnt understand a word they were singing. I thought I would like it more on second listen but I didn't. It's not bad enough for a 2 though
Nice and chill record
A enjoyed this. A vocal style I enjoyed and some interesting lyrics which made this an interesting listen. Worth checking out.
Not sure if this will be a regular rotation item for me but very nice and calming to listen to while I'm working or just vibing
A lot of the songs sounded the same and it has that iconic 90s whiny girl vocalist (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). I enjoyed my listen even though nothing in particular really stood out.
I guess I didn’t get it. It felt pretty meh to me, but based on the reviews I almost (almost) want to give it another listen.
First track has the word funk in the title without any funk. Not a good start to this 90s laden album. Talking about this album with a friend, he most eloquently articulated that this album is "meh..." Agreed.
I've tried several times over the years to listen to the full album. This was the first time I made it through. I think I'm supposed to like this album….like really like it. But I don't. Can't put my finger on it. It's good, just not OMG good. Maybe it's a grower, we'll see
Enjoyed this one. Haven't heard.
There might be some English on this album? 80s Beach House with fewer melodic elements.
It's not terrible, but it's dreary and very 1990s.
Har aldrig hört talas om detta bandet och visste inte alls vad jag gav mig in på. Men - jag gillar det. Det är melodiskt och drömmigt. Skulle kunna sätta på igen och hade kunnat ha på vinyl.
Shiny dream pop that has a number of great highs but for me right now I think maybe lacks a little variety in sound.
Decent, liked the band years ago - not due on this one niw, sounds dated.
Cocteau Twins on aina kuulostanut siltä, että mun pitäis tykätä tosi paljon, mutta tykkään vain vähän. Nättiähän tämä, mutta joku raapivuus puuttuu, mikä monesta muusta shoegazesta tekee sydäntämurskaavaa.
Vittu tälläsessä syksyn melankoliassa tää jotenkin tuntuu tosi surulliselta vaikkei ehkä toisessa mielentilassa sitä olisi. Mitä siellä skoteissa laitetaan veteen kun kaikki tällaiset bändit tulee sieltä. Paikoitellen toimii aika hienostikin. Vaikee tätä on ehkä rockiksi sillai ajatella, mutta jotain indiempää fiilistelyy! 3/5
avaushittiraidan ulkopuolella vähän liian itseään toistavaa. 3/5
Pretty good
This is lovely
good vibes, enjoyable and good hooks
dug it enough for w few listens and dug up a few additional Cocteau Twins albums while I did
Ethereal and relaxing, while missing the flair of some other bands of the era
# Album Name: Heaven or Las Vegas # Artist: Cocteau Twins # Rating: 3/5 # Comments: No bad. Just mid # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? meh
Dream pop - I had a hard time actually understanding the lyrics but I did like the floaty quality of the music. I can see similarities between Chappel Roans ""The Subway"" in both music and singing voice.
Its pleasant. Its very evocative. I even understood some of the words Liz was singing which I cannot say about Garlands. Its also very 80s sounding.
Soothing soft music. Nothing crazy but good! 5.9/10
Indie rock. Starts slow, simple and whiny, like most all indie. Gets better as she goes.
Hypnotic vibe - very cool album to listen to on a rainy day
Melodic and pleasant but didn’t really stand out for me.
Just kinda passed by. Nothing really stuck.
Ethereal dream pop. I wrote on Treasure that it was "enjoyable but not a revelation" and that's true for this one too, although (going off memory) I think this one's an improvement.
[+] Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fire Não conhecia os artistas para além do nome. Dream Pop bem aconchegante. 3,5/5
Very reminiscent of shoegaze and alt rock – which is interesting as neither genre was quite mainstream yet in 1990. I love the smooth, clear quality of the vocals and the fact that (in many tracks) you can't really make out the lyrics if you aren't paying attention. The close harmonies throughout the album, as well as the fast vibrato, remind me of ABBA if they'd taken a rockier, gazier approach to their early 80s material. (I wonder if that's a common comparison.) Both Iceblink Luck and the title track can reasonably be described in this way, but that would be understating their grandeur and complexity. The songs on this album are heavy as heck, something that ABBA never quite achieved. Pitch the Baby is maybe the most lighthearted song, insofar as it grooves really well and the bassline jumps around between various bluesy notes. Compositionally a disco/post-disco track, which is perhaps a bold move for 1990 when the disco genre had long fallen out of favour. Cherry-coloured Funk probably has the coolest, most memorable vocal on the album. Those high notes in the chorus are great. The final track, Frou-frou Foxes, is strong for the same reason. What's consistent in all tracks is the 80s "production sheen", heard very prominently in the synths, that makes the whole record distinctly worse than it could be. And the textures are very similar between tracks (there isn't much variation in genres or in instruments used. no acoustic tracks, no ballads, etc.), meaning the album doesn't flow particularly well. There isn't the sense of up-and-down, of adventure, you would hope to find in an album. 3/5 Key tracks: Cherry-coloured Funk, Pitch The Baby, Frou-frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires
This one surprised me a bit. More listenable than i anticipated.
Muy chic pop para mí, siento que iría perfecto en Neon Demon o algo super dreamy. Perdónenme Cocteau Twins, prometo escuchar más de sus trabajos para entenderles.
Kind of reminds a little of the a mix of the cranberries and the rankin family. With the harmonies similar to the rankin family and the sound more like the cranberries. Good album overall though. Enjoyed the use of synthesizers and what sounds like a good drum loop.
Quite ethereal, but not the best thing in the world.
Didn’t get to listen to all of it but seemed ok
Album was fine. No super high spots though.
Nice morning music.
A pure 3 star experience to me. It’s good, I enjoyed listening, there was nothing objectionable, it just wasn’t Up My Alley or Surprising enough to get the 4 star bump.
enjoyed pretty much every song on this one. i love the singing voice
Not bad, pretty chilly. Ryan says they're not bad.
I remember when I first heard about this album. It's popular in certain alt circles, the ones that also enjoy Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, and in my case - anything Drain Gang related. I also recall feeling very indifferent about this album... and upon relisten I feel exactly the same way. It's actually similar to Depeche Mode's Violator in that it's an album from 1990... which sounds like it's from the 80s. It's a weird example but I've been thinking about some late 1980s albums which sound ahead of their time, in that they have a 90s sound (like The Stone Roses's self-titled album - The Stone Roses). This is the opposite. I don't really like Elizabeth Fraser's vocals, which definitely impacts my enjoyment of the album, and every track on the album kinda blends together in a forgettable way. There's the same effect applied to the vocals and I find that the guitar gets old pretty quickly. Fifty-Fifty Clown is the stand-out track to me, since it at least distinguishes itself with an interesting synth usage. I'm downgrading this one to a 2.5 (from 3) because my complaints with this one are pretty similar to that of Violator.
Nice ambiance. Not sure anything really stuck with me.
This album is quite interesting, not my cup of tea but I will not deny that I enjoyed it. It's very ethereal, and I liked it so much. I wouldn't probably listen to it again but it wasn't bad at all.
This is what it sounds like when the dentist cranks the nitrous oxide up to eleven. That can be good or bad depending on how long they're drilling.
Väga mõnus kuulamine
From a listening perspective, I'm surprised that this album isn't on the list for the most controversial albums because I can definitely hear it clicking with people's taste buds or absolutely hating everything about this album. For me, I was allured by the mixture of a dreamy rock album with atmospheric vocals and a more concrete and polished backing beat. Though honestly, whilst I was fascinated by this, it didn't gel with me, and it felt a bit repetitive and soulless by the end. Very glad I listened to it though.
Didn't really move me one way or the other. Pleasant music for the background of a vegan café or something.
I think it was a cool type of music I couldn't really tell what they were saying but I think it was pretty good.
I have a lot of respect for this band and the approximately 200 genres they have directly influenced
You know when you can hear a certain time though music? This just sounds like the early 90s to me. This just isn't for me though. It all kind of sounds the same and it's not something I would seek out or listen to again. 2.5/5. Raising to 3.
It's got a nice dreamy vibe with the vocals and guitar, but otherwise is just a slightly above average new wave album. Even if it was a nice formula, everything sounded too much alike
Honestly good Chill 8/10
Huh. This album cover and name evoke classic hard rock vibes, though I can't help but notice that this thing was released in 1990. Is this gonna be an alternative album? Ooh, shoegaze. I shoulda known. I've always had an appreciation for this genre, though I've never listened to shoegaze all that much. I've borne witness to the dark path that extensive shoegazing has lead people down many a time. For what it's worth, this is a pretty good sampling of the genre. While I generally think shoegaze errs on the side of being a little head-empty, there's an impressive display of variety and liveliness on these tracks. Heaven or Las Vegas falls into a bit of a lull midway through the album, though it comes to a solid finish thanks to some good late-album tracks. The opener is quite good. The singer's voice wraps around and meshes with the reverberating atmosphere quite well. "Pitch the Baby" is an even better follow-up. Big fan of those jagged, echoing guitars, and the songwriting is quite intricate with how it plays into the instrumental. "Iceblink Luck" is my favourite song of the album. Some entrancing pop vocals make for a pretty good time. "Fotzepolitic" has a good vocal flow. They carry somewhat of a folk vibe, which is an interesting and fitting genre to pair shoegaze with. For the first time in a good while, I don't need to check the book for this album. There's a unique and intricate craft to shoegaze which goes beyond the creation process for pretty much every other genre of music. This album exemplifies that process pretty well, so I shant nitpick. Cosigned.
I assumed this was in a different language based on the fact that I understood none of the lyrics. Then I looked them up, and it's basically just gibberish
Pas connu Ton sympa
The Good: We are finally told the truth! The Bad: Didn’t know hell is was so popular… The Ugly: The freakin’ outfits being worn in hell… So, second time around for the Cocteau Twins on this list, and, truth-be-told, this album was better received by my brain than the previous one. Also, maybe I finally understand what the term shoegaze is in refers to: one gazing at one’s shoes!!! Oh well, there goes my future as a comedy writer… 3*
Hat mich überrascht. Habe irgendwie Standardrock erwartet, das war schön träumerisch.
Bello ma non come Head Over Heels, quindi tre stelle
I think more listens and a different mood and I'd rate this a bit differently
skroz korektno, ništa posebno, ali ne vrijeđa sluh
Better than what I thought
This album never really captured my attention. It's not bad, per se, not great either. It's just kind of there. There were some songs that I liked, such as Road, River, and Rail. This sounded very Depeche Mode-like, but maybe that's because I just had DM's Violator album a few days ago. Heaven or Las Vegas reminded me of a Cure song (Pictures of You, maybe), so I liked that one as well. But nothing was terribly original or outstanding. A pretty average album.
80s ambient. Vocals are ok.
Very cool sound. I can hear a lot of people who followed in their footsteps…Beach House, Phoebe Bridgers, Mac Demarco…
I listened to this album twice, both times I enjoyed it. More of a soundtrack feel. Probably won’t listen to again.
Ik ben er niet helemaal uit wat ik van dit album vind. Sowieso een verademing om weer eens een vrouwelijke zangeres te hebben. Ik krijg soms een klein beetje ABBA vibes? Maar dan wel hun tragere ballads zeg maar. Een van de nummers heet Cherry-Coloured Funk maar helaas word er verdomd weinig gefunkt. Eerlijk? de vocalen zijn geweldig, maar ik vind de instrumentals gewoon een beetje saai? Ik had hier meer van verwacht, iets meer funk ofzo. Maar begrijp me niet verkeerd; het is opzich echt mooi en het laatste nummer is gewoon prachtig gedaan. Daar was ik echt positief over verrast, maar verder is er gewoon te veel wat niet boven prima uit komt. De muziek verveeld me niet maar eigenlijk merk ik pas bij het laatste nummer dat ik rechtop ben gaan zitten omdat mn aandacht werd gepakt. Jammer! FAVO: Frou-Frou foxes in Midsummer Fires
Enjoyable!
Rv
and the award for best album in the worst genre goes to:
Some stuff that I never realized I knew. Vibey, good sound.
It’s probably good, but not my genre.
Pleasant relaxing album but a bit plain.
nr 1: 3.5/5
A good chill vibes album, though it does get a little monotonous by the end
Lovely chill pop
Dreamy, layered pop. It's like a well made ice cream sundae. Bittersweet chocolate flakes on top.
Me not digging it
Enjoyed the album. Easy listening, some good songs on the album.
meh
By 1990, dream pop had found its voice, and on Heaven or Las Vegas the Cocteau Twins refined theirs into a lush, intoxicating blur of shimmering guitars, gauzy textures, and Elizabeth Fraser’s ethereal vocals—part Sinéad O’Connor, part Kate Bush, part something wholly untranslatable. Her lyrics dissolve into sound, ghostly harmonies drifting through the mix like echoes in an underwater cathedral: beautiful, if sometimes frustrating in their elusiveness. Yet the album delivers undeniable highlights—“Cherry-Coloured Funk” opens with jangly immediacy, “Iceblink Luck” rides a rare, propulsive bassline, “Fifty-Fifty Clown” spirals into hypnotic repetition, and the title track channels the Cure at their most majestic with Fraser as a spectral guide. This isn’t music that wants to be understood so much as absorbed, an album that asks you not to sing along but to let yourself dissolve inside its haze.
peak
3.5 por el mood q genera
Interesante. 3.5
Son originales. Buen hallazgo
Not bad but also not great. Another one I'm not sure why it made the list.
1990 Many claim to be fans of Cocteau Twins, but really they're just trying to be cool in front of their peers; also they're wrong. If dreamy, indy pop, where you can't make out the lyrics is your thing, go for it, I found it all a bit dull. I have a CT album in my collection (not this one), but it seldom find its way onto my CD player. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ❌️ nope Bloated ★★★☆☆ (5/10)
I was torn between 3 and 4 stars here. Ultimately I went with 3 because, nice and dreamy though it was, there wasn't really anything here that's going to bring me back. No individual song sounded really different from another. No song makes me want to go back and listen to it again. The overall experience was good, though
Meia bomba, calminho.
Meh
Classic dream pop. But a tad too pop. And not enough dream -- in the sense that I can hear things I like (I kinda like shoegaze) but it's not powerful enough somehow, I'm not taken by a wall of sound as shoegaze can take me. Now I want to listen to some Slowdive.
Did not expect a second album from the twins. This one's not bad, but Treasure caught me on a good time so I liked it a lot more.
It was...ok. I think I need to be in the right mood for this kind of music personally, so it makes it hard to rate. I didn't hate it, but didn't love it either. Nothing really stood out. Did not help that I was tired and this felt like it was a trap lulling me to sleep at my desk.
This felt like ABBA if they came out in the late 80s. After a while it all messed together and the background sounds all started to feel similar. It gave very psychedelic techno world floating in a weird astro plane.
I already knew and liked the first song! The rest is pretty chill but unremarkable.
Dreamy and transportable. Really takes you into the album, yet it is hard to understand at some points. Unsure if that is intentional, but I could see how it could add to the dreamscape. Overall a solid album, a few notable songs and a lot I probably wont ever hear again.
It's a slightly darker version of there contemporary Irish counterpart The Cranberries, but also has a lot of similarities to HAIM's music.
Quite nice but didn’t inspire me
Nice ethereal sounding music from what I presume are twins, 3/5.
Unexpectedly vibey
Quite enjoyed this, great band name too
No me gusta mucho, demasiado retro
Lovely voices, but blew by without much grabbing me. I remember liking this album much more when it came out - that probably says more about me than the album…
too slow for me but better than anticipated. kind of enjoyed it. pleasant surprise
Ok
It is special. Cocteau Twins are special, not easily approached, but there is magic going on here. And as always the fantastic voice of Elisabeth Frazer
This was OK. Pretty bland, poppy fare.
Ok
Ehh, it’s ok. Like if 10,000 Maniacs and Bjork did a collaboration album 2.5⭐️
Not a big Cocteau Twins or late 80s genre fan, but this one would a good road trip lp, especially evening and night driving
4/10
Sounds like a cross between Abba and Enya.
Not harsh and unpleasant but nothing grabs you nothing sounds amazing just okay so an okay score it gets.
Not sure what to make of this, it certainly has an ephemeral gossamer atmosphere. I certainly don’t know what the hell she is saying, to be honest I am not sure what language it it, there being the occasional word I pick up. Which all adds up to something that I find equally enjoyable and annoying in equal measures. If listen too closely think it’s annoyance, if tune out more enjoyable. So in the background while working this morning it’s edging into the more enjoyed 3.75 Star ( wish it was out of 10 not 5 so had more differentiation)
3/5
This was a chill listen. Enjoyed it on a drive to a buddies. Probably won't come back, but didn't hate my time with it.
Miksi tää kuulostaa kuin laulettaisiin simlishiä? Eheä sen lisäksi muutenkin läpi levyn, siitä pisteet: tasainen utuinen tunnelma, tuntuu aavikolta. Vähän liian tasainen siihen, että olis supermielenkiintoinen. Mut jotenkin toimi, positiivisesta yllätyksestä kokonainen ekstratähti.
It was alright. No songs stuck out to me as my favorite.
Lots of talent here. I liked cherry-colored funk but it’s pretty much goes downhill from there. Too much of the same thing going on. It’s not bad, it’s just not my thing.
Just couldn't get into it, but I can see the vision.
I like the Cocteau Twins sound, but find I can take it or leave it. Nice music to sit and listen to, not great driving music!
Nice listen. Hear this band’s influence in a lot of other later stuff I’ve heard. Reminds me how much good music has come out of Scotland.
Pretty decent album. A unique sound. Nothing here to make me want to come back to it but interesting nonetheless.
Enjoyable.
Visste inget, inte vad jag trodde. Positivt överraskad. Väldigt mycket en atmosfär-skiva, men en atmosfär jag gillat och gärna lyssnar på igen. Behöver nog fler lyssningar för att sätta sig och få låtar att stå ut. Lyssnade i bil solig sommardag -perfekt kontext. Kommer jag lyssna igen: ja Bästa spår: albumet Betyg: 7 av 10
I like the Cocteau Twins but it sounds a bit same-y quite quickly.
Interesting.
The ethereal quality of Elizabeth Fraser's voice set it apart.
More straight up hooks than the previous album but I miss some of the My Bloody Valentine screech
I loved 'Pitch the Baby'. Very nice sound for the album overall especially from a production and effects standpoint. Makes you feel like you are floating. But it is kinda repetitive. I think a lot of indie artists took inspiration from their work.
Cocteau Twins are one of those bands, aren't they - critics love them, you know the name, you know a bit about them, but you don't really know anyone who is absolutely crazy about them. And if that seems like a criticism, it isn't - it's just that they are a band based around textures and feels more than out-and-out bangers. I was trying to think of a way to describe their sound and came up with this: Remember that period when digital guitar FX were all the rage in the late 80s/early 90s? And it suddenly made sense for the aspiring guitarist to buy a multi-effects unit rather than lots of individual dedicated pedals (oh, how times have changed)? Well, they would have decent enough chorus, and reverbs, and delays, and all the usual stuff, but there would also be a load of crazy presets with dumb names like Icy Metal Skyscraper, or Sea Breeze or something and you could never really imagine a practical use for them without descending into some crazy prog metal nightmare. Well, Cocteau Twins sound like they use all of those presets ALL OF THE TIME, but have somehow found a way to make them sound cool. And, again, that is certainly not a dig. Suffice to say, they have always beat their own path with an elegant and sophisticated sound which is instantly recognisable as "indie", but somehow strangely distant from any of the bands you may try to compare them to. Heaven Or Las Vegas is possibly their most accessible and commercial sounding record, but still feels like parts of it are a puzzle lurking beneath the layers that you have to figure out for yourself. And I'm probably reading way too much into it, but I have warmed to Cocteau Twins over the years - while I might criticise other bands for having a great sound but not enough catchy tunes, I feel like these guys are kind of like that by design, and I probably wouldn't have them any other way.
not bad
Started out very promising. I’ve always loved Cherry-coloured Funk but things went downhill from there.
I love the Cocteau Twins and their experimental style. This album was amazing but also quite safe. Easy for the public to love.
90’s whimsy goth vibes
It was an easy playlist to have on while I worked. But even more, I loved what it went on to play after. Just a good vibe.
This reminds me of indie music during the late 2000s. Never heard of it before but it must have had some influences on those bands.
Traumpop
Not a group I've listened to before, but im guessing this is where Pale Waves got their inspiration from
Dream pop is a newer genre for me but I'm enjoying it, don't know if the vocals are for me.
Good to chill with
Very unique sound here that was super cool to hear, but a lot of the tracks seemed similar and I could probably decipher only 10% of the lyrics
It’s Elvis. Even this he married a 14 year old he’s the king
That kick off track, CHERRY COLOURED FUNK was rad. Feels like a good introduction to the 90's without ignoring it's 80's roots. Upon research, appears Elizabeth Fraser dated Jeff Buckley for a time... Nothing more than a cool little anecdote.
Listenable but didn’t do enough to come back to
Probably need to re-listen but i kind of liked it. Singer was featured in "teardrop" by Massive Attack (House theme) I had put on an "indie" Sonos radio station and the lead single to this album was the first to come up on the shuffle. Kind of a weird coincidence on the day we got this album, especially since it is new to me.
cherry colored funk- 6 pitch the baby- 6 iceblink luck- 7 fifty fifty clown- 6 or 7 heaven or las vegas- 7 i wear your ring- 6 or 7 fotzepolitic-6 or 7 wolf in the breast- ? 6 road, river, and rail- 6 frou frou foxes in midsummer fires- 6 it sounded like one long song but it was a very nice song so
Beautiful sound textures and vocals that carry such emotion.
Decent album. Didn't know it but I like the vibes on this one.
I drifted in and out of this. Sometimes I got really into it, and sometimes it was more background and didn’t grab me.
Pretty cool album; I like how it felt like a band separate from the vocalist that had an idea that would riff on and drone on repeat while the singer did their thing on top. I don't always love this sound where the band and vocalist are in two different rooms, but I feel like it worked for them here. The compositions are interesting enough to keep me engaged and I could split my attention between the two focuses. 3/5, but I think on any day of the week I could lean 1 more "star" in either direction depending on how I'm feeling.