Evangeline | ||||
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EP by | ||||
Released | 20 September 1993 [1] | |||
Studio | September Sound | |||
Genre | Dream pop | |||
Length | 11:19 | |||
Label | Fontana | |||
Producer | Cocteau Twins | |||
Cocteau Twins chronology | ||||
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Evangeline is a song and the 12th EP by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. It was recorded and mixed at September Sound in London, and released in September 1993 by record label Fontana. The song, written by group members Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde, was a moderate hit in several countries and very popular in Portugal. It was included on the band's seventh studio album, Four-Calendar Café (1993). The accompanying music video for "Evangeline" was directed by German film director Nico Beyer. [2]
Jason Ankeny from AllMusic stated that songs like "Evangeline" "continue the trio's advance into more accessible melodic and lyrical ground without sacrificing even an ounce of their trademark ethereality." [3] Josef Woodard from Entertainment Weekly felt it have "an otherworldly shimmer, a mode perfected by these early architects of dream pop." [4] David Beran from the Gavin Report wrote, "Headphones are a must for this sonic picnic and first single from the upcoming album. Drop into background landscapes of milky way-out keyboards and slivers of airy guitar. Oh, did I mention that the foreground vocals are patent 'Teau Twin ringlets of bliss?" [5] He added that the song "slowly plunges as Frazer's voice soars into a firmament crowded with spacey snippets of computerized sound." [6] Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News-Sentinel described the "gorgeous strains" as "typical Cocteau Twins triumphs, aural massages of magical quality." He also noted that the instruments supply "an air of dreamy melancholia that both chills and warms." [7] A reviewer from Lennox Herald complimented it as "a fine effort". [8]
Peter Paphides from Melody Maker remarked Fraser, "seemingly concussed by the heartbreak, harmonising with herself on the chorus". [9] American Musician remarked the song's "sly pop appeal", adding that "the candyland blur of the Cocteaus' sound has never been so alluring". [10] Martin Aston from Music Week declared it as "a slow, stately affair with all their charm and melodic ingenuity intact." [11] R.S. Murthi from New Straits Times felt that a song like "Evangeline" "evince concerns that go beyond the ordinary. And the combination of surreal verbal imagery and atmospheric music makes for an engaging mystique." [12] Stuart Bailie from NME found that "it has the kind of cheesy drum fills and forlorn arpeggios that would sound at home on a Des O'Connor record." [13] Ted Drozdowski from Rolling Stone wrote that it "ride gentle guitar-bass-drums grooves that allow Fraser to insinuate her phrases into choruses based on memorable melodies that pack a sweet-tooth rush." [14] Alec Foege from Spin magazine named it one of the album's three most successful songs, noting that it "swells with the effects-treated grandeur of Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie's accompaniment". [15] In his book The Da Capo Companion to 20th-century Popular Music, Phil Hardy described it as "dreamy". [16] Weisbard and Marks wrote in their Spin Alternative Record Guide, that it is "a song so adult-sounding it could have come from Prefab Sprout." [17]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [18] |
All tracks are written by Cocteau Twins (Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Simon Raymonde).
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Evangeline" | 4:29 |
2. | "Mud and Dark" | 3:43 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Evangeline" | 4:29 |
2. | "Mud and Dark" | 3:43 |
3. | "Summer-blink" | 3:09 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Evangeline" | 4:29 |
2. | "Mud and Dark" | 3:43 |
3. | "Summer-blink" | 3:09 |
Cocteau Twins
Production
Chart (1993) | Peak position |
---|---|
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [19] | 89 |
Portugal (AFP) [20] | 4 |
UK Singles (OCC) [21] | 34 |
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde in 1983. The group earned critical praise for their ethereal, effects-laden sound and the soprano vocals of Fraser, whose lyrics often eschew any recognisable language. They pioneered the 1980s alternative subgenre of dream pop and helped define what would become shoegaze.
Head over Heels is the second studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. The album was released on 24 October 1983 through the label 4AD. It featured the band's signature sound of "Guthrie's lush guitars under Fraser's mostly wordless vocals" and is considered an archetype of early ethereal wave music.
Heaven or Las Vegas is the sixth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, released on 17 September 1990 by 4AD. Despite 4AD president Ivo Watts-Russell proclaiming it one of the best-ever releases on his label, he released the group from their contract at the end of 1990 because his relationship with the band had soured.
Milk & Kisses is the eighth and final studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, issued by Fontana Records in March 1996. It proved to be their last; a meeting two years later to record a new album ended with the breakup of the band.
Elizabeth Davidson Fraser, is a Scottish singer. She was the vocalist for the dream pop band Cocteau Twins who achieved international success primarily during the fifteen years from the mid-1980s to late 1990s. Their studio albums Victorialand (1986) and Heaven or Las Vegas (1990) both reached the top ten of the UK Album Charts, as well as other albums including Blue Bell Knoll (1988), Four-Calendar Café (1993) and Milk & Kisses (1996) charting on the Billboard 200 album charts in the United States as well as the top 20 in the UK. She also performed as part of the 4AD group This Mortal Coil, including the successful 1983 single "Song to the Siren", and as a guest with Massive Attack on their 1998 single "Teardrop".
Garlands is the debut album by the Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. It was released on 10 July 1982 by the record label 4AD. It peaked in the top 5 of the UK Independent Albums Chart, and received support from BBC Radio 1 radio host John Peel.
Treasure is the third studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, released on 1 November 1984 by 4AD. With this album, the band settled on what would, from then on, be their primary lineup: vocalist Elizabeth Fraser, guitarist Robin Guthrie and bass guitarist Simon Raymonde. The album also reflected the group's embrace of the distinctive ethereal sound they became associated with.
Four-Calendar Café is the seventh studio album by Scottish band Cocteau Twins, released on 18 October 1993 by Fontana Records.
Victorialand is the fourth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, released by 4AD in 1986. Working without bassist Simon Raymonde, vocalist Elizabeth Fraser and guitarist/producer Robin Guthrie opted for a subtler sound on the album.
Blue Bell Knoll is the fifth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, released on 19 September 1988 by 4AD. This was the band's first album to receive major-label distribution in the United States, as it was originally licensed by Capitol Records from 4AD for North American release. After a period of being out of print while 4AD reclaimed the American distribution rights for their back catalogue, the album was remastered by guitarist Robin Guthrie and reissued in 2003. Vocalist Elizabeth Fraser named the album after a peak in southern Utah called Bluebell Knoll.
The Moon and the Melodies is a collaborative studio album by Scottish dream pop band Cocteau Twins and the American minimalist composer Harold Budd. It was released 10 November 1986 by 4AD. The name "Cocteau Twins" did not appear on the release, which instead credited the band's three members and Budd individually.
The Spangle Maker is an EP by Scottish band Cocteau Twins, released on 4AD in April 1984. It was the first recording to be issued after bassist Simon Raymonde joined the band. The EP featured two versions of "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops", and two B-sides. All three songs appeared in the band's live set.
"Iceblink Luck" is a single by Scottish band Cocteau Twins, released by 4AD Records in August 1990. It was the first single from the Heaven or Las Vegas album and the band's first single to be released in the United States. It was the band's second single to reach the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 38. The single also received considerable success in Europe, debuting at No. 43 on the European Airplay Chart as well as at No. 91 on the European Hot 100 Singles chart.
Twinlights is a 1995 EP by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, released in September 1995 by Fontana Records. It was issued along with the EP Otherness as a teaser for the album Milk & Kisses. It is a mainly acoustic recording, with AllMusic referring to it as "being as close to an "unplugged" effort as the Twins ever got". The EP was originally released on CD as well as a 2x7" vinyl set.
Otherness is a 1995 EP by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, released in October 1995 by Fontana Records. It was issued along with Twinlights as a teaser for the full-length album Milk & Kisses. It was the group's final EP.
Lullabies to Violaine is a Cocteau Twins box set released in limited quantities by 4AD Records in November 2005. Comprising four CDs, the box set collects the tracks from every Cocteau Twins EP and single from Lullabies to Violaine, except the 1990 "Heaven or Las Vegas" single and the four songs on the 1991 EPs and Singles & Box Set bonus disc. It was also released as two separate double CD packs titled Lullabies to Violaine: Volume 1 and Lullabies to Violaine: Volume 2 the following year.
"Bluebeard" is a single by the Cocteau Twins. It was released by Fontana Records in February 1994. It was the second single to be released from the Four-Calendar Café album. All three members of the band – Fraser, Guthrie and Raymonde – are credited as songwriters as well as producers.
Snow is a 1993 EP by Scottish band Cocteau Twins, released in December 1993 on Fontana Records. It contains cover versions of the Christmas standards "Frosty the Snowman" and "Winter Wonderland". It is out of print, though its tracks appear on the compilation Lullabies to Violaine.
"Heaven or Las Vegas" is a song by Scottish band Cocteau Twins. It was released by Capitol Records in October 1990 as the second single from the Heaven or Las Vegas album. The song has been described as dream pop.
"Carolyn's Fingers" is a single by Scottish alternative rock and dreampop band the Cocteau Twins, released in 1988 from their album Blue Bell Knoll. The song was released through the 4AD record label and credits all three members of the group – Fraser, Guthrie and Raymonde as songwriters and well as producers.