Cocteau Twins – Victorialand

Review

'Victorialand' drifts like a gentle breeze across a frozen tundra, its ethereal whispers carried on the wings of Elizabeth Fraser's enigmatic vocals. This 1986 release from Cocteau Twins strips away the familiar, leaving behind a delicate tapestry of sound woven primarily from Robin Guthrie's gossamer guitar work. The absence of Simon Raymonde's bass and most percussion elements creates a stark, yet lush landscape where Fraser's voice floats like mist over icy peaks.

Drawing inspiration from the Antarctic expanse of Victoria Land and David Attenborough's 'The Living Planet,' the album paints a dreamscape as vast and mysterious as the polar regions themselves. Fraser's experimental approach to lyrics, sometimes derived from non-English sources, adds to the otherworldly quality of tracks like 'Whales Tails.' The result is a collection of songs that feel like half-remembered dreams, where meaning is felt rather than understood, and beauty is found in the spaces between notes as much as in the sounds themselves. - Maris