Treasure
Cocteau Twins
1984
Album Summary
Treasure is the third studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, released on 1 November 1984 by 4AD. With this album, the band settled on what would, from then on, be their primary lineup: vocalist Elizabeth Fraser, guitarist Robin Guthrie and bass guitarist Simon Raymonde. The album also reflected the group's embrace of the distinctive ethereal sound they became associated with.The album reached number 29 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming the band's first UK Top 40 album, and charted for eight weeks. It also became one of the band's most critically successful releases, although the band considered it underdeveloped. The track "Lorelei" became a minor dance hit during the mid-1980s.
WikipediaThis is such a beautiful and original album. There was nothing like it before it came out, and, even though the band wasn't that happy with it saying that it sounds unfinished, that might be the thing that made it so perfect. Wonderfully layered with the two voices weaving in and out and around each other, the music here floats like a wispy cloud, but the more you listen to it, the more you hear. Absolutely brilliant. For many, it will take several listens to get it, but be patient and you will.
Aaaahhhh...the soothing sounds and driving beats of the Cocteau Twins, an 80s gem. I love them, and have fantasized about them opening for Echo & The Bunnymen in a small venue. Treasure is a dark, melodic journey and an album for many moods. It is a dreamy night drive album, but my first listen today was in the morning while sipping on Kenyan coffee and staring at the snow covered trees. Such a beautiful compliment to the squinting brightness and unknown of the day. And yet, it was even better on tonight's crisp trail walk...magically mesmerizing, with each song steering my mind and eyes into the mysteries of the wintery night. This record is an ethereal piece of art with not one reason to hit fast-forward on the tape deck. As a staple in our car tape cases back in high school, Treasure's A-side is still so strong (Lorelei & her friends) that it begs us to flip to B and keep driving until Donimo floats us home. (or to the river to float away from everything...)
I thank this project for introducing me to Cocteau Twins. I have now listened to the entire discography and am left in awe of every record, this is no exception. Beautiful.
Not sure what it was, but the angelic vocals and the large stadium sound, great run time, made for a great dream pop album. The vibe was amazing.
My kind of music! I'm an absolute slut for both shoegaze/dream pop and goth. Love the ethereal vibes, angelic voice and nonsensical lyrics (or is it Scottish?). I have no idea why I never bothered to check out Cocteau Twins before. Incredible. People who don't like this are weak. Sorry, I don't make the rules.
Beautiful, dark, romantic, and ethereal. This is one of my favorite albums, with masterpieces from start to finish. Frazer speaks in a mixture of English, Latin, and Gaelic among others, using the beauty of language as the primary instrument itself. The guitars echo and create a wave of noise that create space in this otherworldly reality her music is set in. It's optimistic but cold in a gothic romanticized manner. There are some dance tracks like "Lorelai", some emotionally dramatic tracks like "Persephone" or "Amelia", and some that put you in an neverending trance like "Pandora." The simplicity of the song titles, minimal instrumentation, and lack of sensical lyrics place an emphasis on the organized structures of the songs and their linked coherency. It doesn't follow any form of conventional pop structure, so you never know where the song's headed next, but you're pulled in every second. Second half moves into more unconventional, intricate ambient compositions. "Aloysius" is melancholic, calm while still dramatic. "Cicely" is the hardest and coldest song on the album, marked by fast rhythmic drum beats and wailing guitars. "Otterley" is characterized by whipsers and the sound of waves on an eery and desolate beach, haunted by ghosts and sirens. We end with the angelic and satisfying "Donimo", a gorgeous teary closer. I agree with this track ordering, although I could see how some could lose focus in these last few. I find it to be flawless from start to finish, and one I revisit for all sorts of occasions.
This was ethereal and mythology heavy and beautiful. Persephone, Donimo, Pandora, all of it is great.
I have no idea what any of those lyrics were. Listened to this using vintage Beyer headphones from the 80s. Sometimes things just make you stop and let the rain get you wet to the skin. Wonderful. So very wonderful.
Had this album on constant play back in the 80s, but I hadn't revisited the whole thing in probably 30 years. Absolutely lovely, one of the great albums of that era. I agree with those who say that some of the technological aspects of this album's sound seem a bit dated. But you can't argue with that vibe, which sounds rather timeless. Darkly lovely, exotic and ethereal music. Gorgeous, haunting arrangements and one of the most striking uses of vocals I've ever heard. This is an outstanding album by one of the most unique and influential bands in music, arguably their best. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): Persephone, Beatrix, Lorelei, Otterley, Donimo, Pandora (for Cindy), Aloysius, Amelia, Ivo, Cicely
Dreamy! Amazing textures, arresting vocals, interesting melodies and harmonies
The atmosphere on this album is unique and fantastic. A magnificent cross between their more gothic side and their more dream pop side. The timbre of the instruments is always particularly well put together to accompany this voice and these distinct words. This album is a nice breath of fresh air despite being dark. Absolutely love it.
A lot of people seem to think dream pop is quiet background music but this sorta thing should be played loud for you to pick up on all the lush details here and let it rush all over you. Anyways, this Aussie is happy to be back and gives this album four bags of Burger Rings out of five.
This album has such a fucking vibe, and I'm so here for it. I can only imagine how fucking awesome it must've been to be at the club in 1984 as something from this album took the speakers. It reminds me of a darker, more adult version of AURORA because Fraser's voice is so etheral and she uses her own made up language. Only the outdated drum machine (Persephone suffers from this one) is kind of an issue together with some mastering that seems slightly rushed, but somehow it just adds to the vibe. Really torn on this one, 4 or 5. Lorelei is such a jammer. Though I don't think about half of the songs are going to age very well to me, and just begin sounding weird at some point. Like Aloysius, which is already annoying after two listens. I think this album is a very strong 4. Truly a treasure.
My best friend is probably the biggest Cocteau Twins fan I will ever meet and formally introduced them to me last year. I can't tell you how many nights I've spent with him on one of our couches or in one of our cars stoned out of our mind just disassociating to "Lorelei" and more songs from Heaven or Las Vegas. This album just brought about some good memories. While this is certainly their second best album and coming into it I only really knew "Lorelei" and the general sound of the band, I did enjoy this album. I found some tracks I like that I haven't heard before like "Pandora (For Cindy)" that were really good. All in all this was a great album to get blazed and vibe out so hard to.
As it turns out, they are not actually twins and there’s 3 people in this band. Talk about false advertising. I kid, but I always kind of wondered if there were actual twins in this band. There aren’t, but, I swear*, I’m not going to let that have an effect on my review. Treasure is an enjoyable, ahead of its time dream-pop record. Its influence on modern indie is undeniable. If you’re a Stereolab fan, like me, I think you’ll find quite a few similarities between the ‘Lab and Cocteau Twins, especially on a track like “Pandora (for Cindy)”. (Full Disclosure: I’m partially hoping that a positive rating and Stereolab mention will bump up Stereolab in the generator’s recommendation queue for my account) Like a lot of British indie/underground of the 80’s, Treasure is a little overly dramatic and maudlin sounding, but makes up for it with interestingly layered vocals and beautiful guitar work. A thoroughly enjoyable 4 out of 5. *Deducted 1 star for not having any twins in the band
I've heard of this band but that's it - always had it in my head that it's old school electronica for hipsters. I'm expecting similar feelings to Depeche mode in that half my friends and bands I like dig it, but I won't care. Baseline 3/5. Ok, it's not really electronica (beyond obvious drum machine) but I got the hipster part right. Initial thoughts are "accessible Kate Bush". Guitars well produced, the acoustic tones are lovely. Singing is nice, well harmonised etc. I dig the lack of expected song structures, it doesn't throw convention completely out the door but it kinda blurs the line between verse and chorus, and that's cool. Songwriting is consistent, if a little samey. The drums though, wtf. A few songs in they started to get really jarring, it sounds like midi drums from a $50 Casio keyboard. At times the drums are all you can hear - they didn't even try to hide the shit. Overall I probably won't listen to the whole thing ever again, but this wasn't a horrible experience by any means. The first song in particular was a standout, might make its way into a playlist. And if they'd used real drums I might have even given it a 4. 3/5.
This is such a mess. Musically, vocally, and production-wise this band sound like they could do so much better but they somehow landed on this atrocity. There's no other way to describe it than a mess, it confuses my ears. Someone dropped all the elements of a decent album, and lost the instructions on how to put it back together, so we end up with all this disjointed dissonant nastiness.
!!!! this is so good can’t believe I’ve never listened to this album before. dreamy, soft, magical + feels really ahead of its time. this album really relaxed me and made me v happy :) also the songs had cool names too
Different than all the music I've ever heard. Not my style, but would enjoy listening to it once in a while
je fais une mega remontada dans mes reviews et il y a beaucoup d'albums qualitatifs ce qui présage un effrayant creux musical très bientôt
Not really listened to the Cocteau Twins before - although Lorelei must have popped on Spotify as I'd liked it. This was a lovely album to listen to - really dreamy. Loved everything about it.
19/08/2022 Cocteau Twins – Treasure 4.5/5 Great surprise! I hadn’t heard about Cocteau Twins before, but their impact in dream pop and the influence they have accomplished in other musicians is quite clear after listening to this album. It has been like exploring the ancient foundation documents of an established civilization. I really liked the music of the band: the ethereal sounds, the experimentation with sound and singing, and the voice of the vocalist, Elizabeth Fraser (that I also discovered is the singer in “Song of the Siren” of The Mortal Coil); that is almost celestial. The only bad thing about the album, in my opinion, is the bad production and low quality of the sound of the tracks, so it is better enjoyed with headphones. Ivo – 5/5 Great guitars, great ambience, great voice. It creates a great atmosphere of mystery and etherealness. My favourite track of the album. Lorelei – 3.5/5 I’m surprised of how you can create such a complex sound landscape with so little production and not too many instruments. Still a bit dissonant in my opinion. Beatrix – 4/5 “Kate Bush meets Egypt” vibes. I really like how each song creates its own atmosphere, transferring you to different environments. Persephone – 4.5/5 A more “rockish” song, closer to what The Cranberries did in the 90’s. Elizabeth knows how to work with her voice in different contexts, giving different textures and sounds. Pandora (for Cindy) – 5/5 The mixture of different sounds the band creates in this song is perfect, not going anywhere too complicated. Again, a highlight for Elizabeth. Amelia – 3.5/5 This song doesn’t work for me as the others, but it is still good creating a different atmosphere. Aloysius – 4.5/5 Love the guitars in this song. Not any more to say, but I loved it. Cicely – 3/5 Probably my least liked song, but not because of its flaws, but because I don’t really connect with the ambience it creates. Otterley – 4/5 It sounds more like an interlude that anything else. But it accomplishes a very relaxing and evolving atmosphere, almost like you are underwater. Donimo – 4/5 Good ending track, and a great conclusion to the album.
I don't know how to describe this album but I enjoyed a lot the mysticism around all songs. Also, the voice in all the song are just part of the music, that's why the lyrics aren't too complex.
Such a nice overall vibe, nice production, lyrics, instrumental - Masterpiece.
According to Elizabeth Frazer, what words sound like is more important than what they actually mean, which might explain why she uses non-words and foreign language words that she doesn’t know the meaning of in her songs. Looking up her lyrics on any of the wiki-lyric sites a good way to get your daily smile. I love the 4 songs that start with Lorelei – Pandora (for Cindy) being the standout, for me, but the Souxsie and the Banshees-like guitar in Persephone is great too. My co-judge says that this doesn’t sound dated at all and I agree. There has been a lot of dream pop/ethereal/shoe gaze/downtempo recorded over the 3+ decades since, but in 1984, this was pretty unique, and it still is.
Yuuuuuusssssssss! Beautiful! Let me full-on disassociate out of this world, leave my body, and drift through the halcyon swirls of Elizabeth Fraser's voice. Fave track - "Lorelei" is arresting, "Donimo" is a lovely sign off, but really this is a Whole Album kinda thing....
So dreamy. Strangely Ivo doesn't really capture me but once Lorelei kicks in I fall in love all over again.
This is simple. It's one of the greatest albums of all time, in my opinion and to my ears. When my first child was born I gave my wife a list of Cocteau Twins songs to choose from and so "Lorelei" is her middle name. A sweeping, storming wall of sonic perfection. I have no idea what she is singing about but it doesn't matter. It's genius. 10/5
Imagine the nightmares this must have caused back in 1984. Who was ready for this?! Almost 40 years after its release Treasure still sounds completely otherworldly. An ethereal journey from start to finish. Glad this isn’t the only Cocteau Twins album on this list!
Tell you what's the fuckin bomb boys. This album. Wacky 3am listen for me but mamma mia. Why isn't it a 5 star album then I hear you say? Well, I was freaked out by it too.
A pretty decent album, I can see why it was so important to the scene.
Haha I love the Cocteau Twins! This album is good but not as good as Heaven or Las Vegas.
"We're covered by the sacred fire When you come to me You come to me broke" (Lorelei) No sé si señalaría ninguna canción por separado como mi favorita, pero todo el disco tiene un aura de brujería muy guay.
all of the sounds on this really work for me, i love the heavy guitar effects and the layered sounds. the vocals are really beautiful, definitely growing on me as i listen. i think some of the songs in the middle could really use a stronger beat to break up the floatiness, but maybe that's just my taste. i think it'd really reward a second listen.
Quest’album mi ha sorpreso, suona molto moderno e ha un’estetica singolare. L’uso del riverbero mi piace molto.
In conclusione: Ho dovuto ascoltare questo album 2 volte perché è davvero difficile da mettere a fuoco. L'impatto mi ha spiazzato, conoscevo questo gruppo di nome e conoscevo Lorelei (ma non so dove l'avevo sentita) ma se non per questo non sapevo altro. Devo dire che mi ha colpito molto, ho salvato vari pezzi su Spotify (forse i due che più mi hanno colpito sono Beatrix e Cicely). Ci sento davvero tanto di gruppi che verrano dopo come i Daughte o Sigur Rós ma anche un po' di emo in alcuni arpeggi di chitarra. Considerando sta sorta di glossolalia della voce mi sembrano tipo un gruppo indie che fa cover della sound track di Loco Roco. Un punto sicuramente molto negativo è la produzione che è veramente a malapena ascoltabile in certi momenti, non so se questo album è autoprodotto come sembrerebbe (di certo autoproduzione nell'84 non era autoproduzione oggi) però è veramente terribile. Capisco cosa volevano fare però... no. In ogni caso ho fatto tutti e due gli ascolti molto volentieri, penso proprio che me lo riascolterò, se la produzione fosse stata all'altezza forse avrebbe rischiato il 5, chissà.
Beautiful. One of their greatest albums, starting with the utterly gorgeous "Ivo".
Very mystical sounding. Great vocals, even though I couldn't understand a word of what they were saying. Song structure is simple, but works very well in practice.
This album is a medival-rock-sphere pop mix. The tracks are less pop-songs and more rock. In the fact its amzing how these hamonic experiments are grafted onto rock structures. (7/10) Favourite Tracks: Lorelei, Persephone
This is a pretty cool album. Not really my thing but they have a very unique style and I didn't hate it so there must be something to it, right? Hard to judge this kind of thing. Probably one of those albums that I wouldn't mind having on in the background while doing other things.
Easy 4 for me. Has all the stuff I like from the mid 80s - layered synths and ethereal vocals. Ultimately, I think The Glove's Blue Sunshine from the year before (1983) hits some of this stuff better. Also, I wish the album had ended with Cicely.
4.0 - Lush dreamscapes that are dark and jagged, like waking up in a fever and looking out your window onto an icy winter night.
Beautiful, etheral and way ahead of its time. Absolutely terrific dream pop.
I like this a lot. I had heard of the Cocteau Twins and had a vague idea in my head of their sound being alternative with an ethereal twist, but was expecting more alternative and less ethereal. It was actually the other way around though. Very nice. 4 stars.
It's super weird and unique. I like this album a lot and I'm excited to dive into their other records.
This album starts out very strongly. The first four songs are absolutely magical. They sound like a mystical, ethereal siouxsie and the banshees. the second half of the album leans too much on atmospherics forgoing the gorgeous melodies of the first half. Still a really beautiful and accomplished album 4 🌟
This was really good! I never really got into Cocteau Twins but had a great time with this one, the production is just immaculate and the melodies are so folkish and dreamy Will definitely be going back and checking out more of their albums
Other than their non-album single I'd never listened to the Cocteau Twins. Very pleasant listening, albeit with a slightly intrusive drum machine. Dreamy and ethereal, and I will be digging this one out again.
The album where they arguably became the "Cocteau Twins". They hate it. The disjunct between the general etheralness of the music and the solid crunch of the drum machine (did they feed that through gated reverb? It has the same sort of machine gun sound as The Church's "Seance" album) is fascinating.
Dream soundscapes and Elisabeth Frazer adding vocals of incredible beauty. It’s all about atmosphere here, and gets slightly boring if the ears are set for rythmic 3 min songs with lyrics telling a story, but as a back drop for a meditative moment it works. And the best from Cocteau Twins
Loved this - will need to listen again. Lush sounds, but still so much space in the music.
Unique voice and phrasing, nonsense lyyrics, (but who cares). Beautiful and lush.
I don’t know if Spotify’s source is faulty or not but the sound quality of this album was worse than I remembered, particularly the drum machines. They do add a mechanical charm. Anyway, it’s Cocteau Twins.
A beautiful album. Really love the drums thumping out in a really mad way over these beautiful delicate tracks
Familiar with "Lorela", but I hadn't listened to a full album before. Certainly a very unique sound. The closest thing I can equate it to is Kate Bush. I certainly don't begrudge the use of the drum machines and think they are a big part of the reason why this album sticks out in their catalog.
Would like to dig into this group more, new to me but I like what I hear.
Okay looks cool… The album opens off with the song Ivo an interesting plunge into the soundscape of the album with dreamy guitars and odd lyrics cool song. Then there is Lorelei another song in a very similar vein to Ivo but with some cool bell sounds. Honestly if you’re looking for like a less heavy and distorted version of my bloody valentines loveless ( so basically a non showgaze version of that) this would be what I think it would turn out like. Beatrix takes the listener through a more haunted soundscape basically being a creepy chant backed up by dream pop sounds. Persephone is a heavier cut going to more of rock sounding existence it’s just the small things like this rattle sound like a snake crawling out of a cave an the fact that the lyrics are more understandable and less loveless’y really makes it a stand out on first listen. Pandora ( for Cindy) ends off side A it’s this haunting swirling track hidden in with the dreamy soundscapes that make this band sound so special. Side 2 opens with Amelia a loud but not a heavy song the soundscapes are very similar to what we’ve herd before but in a perfected way one of my favourites to be fair. Aloysius is another track moulding into similar sounding stuff but the drums are a real highlight on here. Cicely has an awesome base line that really bring this song together the best bit has to be the spiralling pre chorus though a proper trip. The penultimate track otterley is a morbid thing indeed slow and gloomy yet gentle with the rushes of the see. Probably my least favourite but it’s still cool. The album closes with it’s longest song domino which is this sorta song from heaven being slow but grand and an amazing send off. I really liked it and was close to giving it a 5/5 but I think you really have to be in a certain mood with this but if it clicks like it did with me well my god it’s great.
I really liked this album! Ethereal, otherworldly, perfect for a certain kind of mood.
really liked this album, you can see the direction the group is moving in and how they were pioneers of dreampop. this has some flaws, it’s no heaven or las vegas, which is why it’s a 4, but it’s a very high 4
airy fever dream drones and nonsencial lyrics. kinda reminds me of Candy Claws. feels 1 track too long, but it's a vibe
How was this album made in the early 80s? It feels so ahead of it's time, specially in its production quality. It is such a beautiful, soothing album. The onlyproblem I have with it is that some songs drag out for too long.