Cocteau Twins - Head Over Heels (CD 1986)

‘Head Over Heels’ marks quite a musical departure for Cocteau Twins from their debut album and whilst some of the sparse, almost manic intensity of ‘Garland’s sound remains in tracks like ‘In Our Angelhood’, this is a richer, more satisfying sounding record.

On songs like ‘Sugar Hiccup’ and ‘In the Gold Dust Rush’ the sound soars and is richly embellished with lush guitar lines and swooping synth orchestrations over programmed drum beats. This is the beginning of the band’s trademark ethereal lushness which was employed to such wonderful effect on their records between 1984-1988, their golden period in my opinion.

As ever, Liz Fraser’s voice is a unique thing of beauty. Her style of using vocals more as an additional vocal instrument may not to everyone’s taste, perhaps, but no-one can deny her phenomenal power and range.

This CD is a nice package because you also get the contemporaneous EP ‘Sunburst and Snowblind’ included which features the classic track ‘From the Flagstones’