Garlands

1979年Robin Guthrie和Will Heggie在苏格兰组建了Cocteau Twins。然后在当地的一家迪斯科俱乐部，他们遇到了Elizabeth Fraser，Liz最终同意加入乐队，担任乐队主唱。Cocteau Twins这个名字取自“Johnny & The Self-Abusers（后改名为Simple Minds）”的一首歌。 1982年乐队发行首张专辑“Garlands”。在制作这张专辑的时候，Robin对录音室是如何运作的完全没有概念，不过他还是参与了专辑制作，同时参与的还有当时4AD的老板Ivo Watts-Russell。这张专辑有着明显的后朋克风格，在简单的，重复旋绕的吉他声，贝司声，一台低保真鼓机的冰冷敲击声还有Liz略显神经质的歌唱下，这张专辑以其独特的气质在当时给予了听众极大的印象。这张专辑的某些特质也在日后在CT的各张专辑中得以继续发挥。 “Garlands”成为当年的卖得最好的地下音乐专辑，也被当时BBC1台的DJ John Peel大加赞赏。乐队随后参与了This Mortal Coil的首张专辑，这张专辑同样广受好评，CT于是很快变成为了刚成立不久的4AD的标志乐队。“Garlands”发行近10年后，Shoegazing风潮的流行是对这张专辑的回眸和致敬。 by Ned Raggett Those hearing Garlands for the first time who only know the band's other material will likely be more than a little surprised. Whereas the typical vision of the Twins is of beautiful washes of sounds and exultant vocals from Fraser, on Garlands the trio is still only part of the way there. Instead, the best comparison points are to the Cure on Faith and Pornography, perhaps Metal Box-era PiL, a touch of Joy Division here and there -- in sum, deep, heavy mood verging on doom and gloom. Bassist Will Heggie, in the only full album he did with the Twins, clearly follows the Peter Hook/Simon Gallup style of low, ominous throb, while Guthrie's guitar work more often than not screeches loudly than shimmers. Fraser's singing has a starker edge, unsettling even at its most accessible, sometimes completely disturbing at other times. The strongest track, "Wax and Wane," has the trio creating a powerful but also surprisingly danceable track, the crisp drumbox beat working against Guthrie's compelling atmospherics and Fraser's vocal hook in the chorus. Beyond that and a couple of other moments, though, Garlands falters due to something the band generally avoided in the future -- overt repetition. Too many of the songs rely on a unified formula that rarely changes; one need only compare to the multiplicity of styles tried on Head Over Heels to see the difference. As a debut effort, though, Garlands makes its own curious mark, preparing the band for greater heights. Import CD versions contain a complete John Peel session from 1983, with guest vocals from Cindytalk's Gordon Sharpe, which has since been re-released as part of the BBC Sessions package. Two other rarities, "Speak No Evil" and the fine "Perhaps Some Other Aeon," complete the release.