Cocteau Twins was a Scottish band formed in 1979. Its members were Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Will Heggie, and Simon Raymonde. Raymonde replaced Heggie when he left the band in 1983, making Guthrie and Fraser the last founders of the band.
The album “Heaven or Las Vegas,” which contained 10 songs, was released on Sept. 17, 1990, and it became one of their most popular albums.
The first song on the album, “Cherry-coloured Funk,” like many of the other songs on this album, sounds almost dream-like. The song has a sorrowful tone while keeping an electric beat that goes well with the vocals. This is their second most listened-to song with 125 million listens.
The next song, “Pitch the Baby,” has a more positive tone than the rest of the album. The main chorus is “I only want to love you.” This song keeps up their dream-like aesthetic and sounds ethereal.
The third song, “Iceblink Luck,” is my favorite because of how well the vocals go with the upbeat instrumentals and the negative and positive parts of the lyrics. The song follows the theme of being in a relationship that was hard to open up in, but later in the song, they become more vulnerable with that person.
“Fifty-fifty Clown” is the fourth song. Like many of their other songs it still sounds dream-like; however, parts of the song seem deeper and more emotional. Going between the different emotions through the song’s lyrics helps to create a more emotional song.
The fifth song is “Heaven or Las Vegas.” This song has a sorrowful feeling throughout while still having quite upbeat instrumentals. The main theme of the song is about unrequited love with lyrics like “I want to love a boy that won’t love me.” This song is by far one of the most memorable songs from this album, seeing that it is the title track.
The sixth song, “I Wear Your Ring,” opens up with a slower tempo compared to the other songs, which helps bring out the emotional lyrics in the song. The track goes into the theme of commitment and longing for connection with someone. This all emphasizes the main theme of exploring the complexities of a deep relationship.
Next on the album is “Fotzepolitic.” This song is upbeat and has a fast rhythm which helps it stick out with its high energy. The main chorus of the song is “See ‘n saw bounce me back to you.” This could be referring to a relationship where they drift apart and come back together.
“Wolf in the Breast” is the eighth song on the album, and its slow rhythm helps set its atmosphere. Throughout the song, the ambient background noise feels out of this world, following the trend of being more dream-like.
The song “Road, River and Rail” has an even slower tempo. The song still uses the same ambient noise as the last one; however, the instruments on this track are much lower than Fraser’s vocals, making her lyrics much easier to understand.
The final song on the album is “Frou-frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires.” It is the longest track on the album at 5:38 and has a slow start that slowly builds up. When the song reaches its peak, the lyrics and tempo start to go faster, and the intensity of the instruments increases.
Like many of the Cocteau Twins’ songs, their lyrics are ambiguous, but I believe the main theme of this album is relationships and how everything has many complex levels. Many different emotions are conveyed throughout this album, which helps to reflect the complexities of relationships.
Currently, this is one of my favorite albums. I like how well Fraser’s vocals complement the lively instruments. If I had to give this album a rating, I would give it a 9/10 because of the amazing lyrics and the delicious instruments.
