You don't have to be morbidly obsessed, dress in black or read Rimbaud to love Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil, though it probably wouldn't hurt. Either group's songs would make the perfect soundtrack for an epic angst-out – stark, atmospheric drones that wind hypnotically ever inward – yet neither group qualifies as doom merchants, struggling to extract one last bucket of tears from Joy Division's long dry well. Both The Pink Opaque and It'll End in Tears (though these LPs are newly released in the United States, some of the material has long been available on imports) contain music as fresh and invigorating as anything recently dredged up from the American underground.
Pink Opaque scans Cocteau Twins' four-year career, culling singles as well as tracks from earlier LPs and EPs. "Wax and Wane," from their first LP,
Garlands, pretty much sets the scene. Over a hauntingly repetitive melody, lead singer Elizabeth Fraser releases the lyrics – her voice recalls the sound of a breaking wave – then lets the rhythmic tide carry her sighs. Though her rugged tone and hearty range are reminiscent of the late Sandy Denny, Fraser achieves something unprecedented – she imitates the modulated flow of synthesizers with her voice. The lyrics to "The Spangle Maker" or "Aikea-Guinea" might as well be in Gaelic, but Fraser's instrument is such that she's able to summon up emotions without clearly articulating the lyrics. Between her stunning technique and the lush, but always precise, instrumentation provided by Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde, Cocteau Twins' bleak mantras are often as riveting as the hookiest three-minute ditty.
This Mortal Coil is a sort of house band at the U.K. independent label 4AD. It'll End in Tears deploys members of Cocteau Twins, Cindytalk, Colourbox, Dead Can Dance, Modern English and Xmal Deutschland in a series of one-off collaborations. Pop purists may gag on the Alex Chilton covers here, but Howard Devoto's deadpan reading of "Holocaust" successfully updates the old Box Top's wistful cynicism. And as fascinating as it is to hear Elizabeth Fraser warble lyrics that actually mean something on Tim Buckley's lovely "Song to the Siren," it's the instrumental contributions of Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde that stand out.
Raymonde's pensive bass line pushes Cindytalk singer Gordon Sharp through Chilton's "Kangaroo," while Raymonde and Guthrie come dangerously close to rocking out behind Modern English's Robbie Grey on the turbulent, throbbing "Not Me." Some of the instrumental passages do cross the line from ambient to oblivious, but the album's closing cut, "A Single Wish," has a melodic lilt that's positively uplifting. When Gordon Sharp breathes, "It'll end in tears," right before the fade, I want to grab him and say, "Not always." (RS 470)
MARK COLEMAN
