A Short History of the Cocteau Twins

One of the things people seem to remember about the Cocteau Twins is Liz Fraser's use of words in her lyrics. Or, to be more specific, her lack of words, as for the most part she didn't use conventional words. Instead she made up a language of her own to fit in with the textured layers of guitar and overall feel of the Cocteau Twins' ethereal sound.

Liz Fraser met Robin Guthrie in Grangemouth, Scotland where Guthrie was working in a punk club as a DJ. The two of them joined up with Will Heggie, bassist, in 1979 and started to make music together. Fraser wasn't fully committed at first and, having left the band, only returned when her and Guthrie struck up a more personal relationship. The two of them were big fans of Australian psycho-goth rockers The Birthday Party. The Nick Cave led Birthday Party were an intensely dark band and their live shows obviously had some influence over the early Cocteau Twins, not in form but in tone. They got to know the Aussie rockers and were advised to send some demos to 4AD Records and the label's maverick boss Ivo Watts-Russell. Ivo liked what he heard and booked them into a studio for nine days. The results of these sessions was their debut album 'Garlands'. John Peel was sent a copy and also liked what he heard. He gave the band some much coveted airtime on his wonderfully eclectic radio show. Due to all this radio play, the album reached number 2 in the UK's Indie Charts in 1982.

'Head Over Heals' was their second album and, with a more fully realized sound and image, made it to the number one spot on the same charts. The band's sound had now become something of a signature for 4AD Records, as well as the excellent album and 12" cover art. What made this success all the more incredible was the lack of discernible words in the lyrics as Fraser set about creating a new set of rules and guidelines for what was acceptable in alternative music. Her voice was more like an instrument and weaved in and out of Guthrie's trademark guitar textures. He was not a great technical guitarist but was master of the layered textural guitar technique.

Will Heggie left the band to form Lowlife. He was replaced with Simon Raymonde who the band knew from the shop under the 4AD offices. He brought a whole new structure to the Cocteau Twins' free floating ambient sound. The songs became more structured in a traditional sense. This was partly down to Raymonde's skill at arrangement. Hardly surprising really as his father had helped write 'I Only Want To Be With You' for Dusty Springfield. The 'Treasure' album followed. It makes use of pianos and acoustic guitars, something which the band hadn't contemplated up until Raymonde joined them.

This new sound was to become the band's sound for the next six years. It ended with the 1990 album 'Heaven Or Las Vegas', an album which influenced bands like Portishead and Massive Attack, as well as Bjork. By this point Guthrie had perfected his layered guitar technique. The melody of each song is provided by the bass of Raymonde, and Liz Fraser's vocals actually use real words for the most part.

The Cocteau Twins released a couple more albums before splitting, though it is Fraser's voice which continually crop-up. Sometimes on adverts and occasionally sampled, most notably on Massive Attack's masterpiece, 'Teardrop'. Guthrie and Raymonde continue to run their influential record label Bella Union.