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Twinlights | ||||
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EP by | ||||
Released | September 1995 | |||
Genre | Acoustic rock | |||
Length | 13:55 | |||
Label | Fontana | |||
Producer | Cocteau Twins | |||
Cocteau Twins chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
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.
The EP has four tracks, two of which were reimagined for Milk and Kisses ("Rilkean Heart" and "Half-Gifts"). "Pink Orange Red", which was released on the 1985 EP Tiny Dynamine , is a stripped-down version of the original with a piano playing the melody and opening. "Golden-Vein" is the only track on the EP not to appear on any other release.
Vocalist Elizabeth Fraser described the EP as being about a man she fell in love with during the 1994 Four-Calendar Cafe tour. The mystery man has been speculated to be Jeff Buckley by Fraser's biographer, but she has never confirmed or denied this. [2]
All songs written by Cocteau Twins; string arrangements by Thomas M. Hill.
Chart (1995) | Peak position |
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UK Singles (OCC) [3] | 59 |
Scotland (OCC) [4] | 57 |
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. Fraser's vocals included unknown words she found in foreign language books, adding to the band's dreamy ambience. 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.
Milk & Kisses is the eighth and final studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, issued on 15 April 1996 in the UK by Fontana Records and on 14 May 1996 in the US by Capitol Records. 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 band Cocteau Twins who achieved success in the UK primarily during the fifteen years from the mid-1980s to the 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 hit single "Teardrop".
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.
Sunburst and Snowblind is an EP by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. It was released on 18 November 1983 through the label 4AD. The EP features "Sugar Hiccup" from the album Head over Heels, as well as three other tracks. The title is taken from the first line in the opening track of Head Over Heels, "When Mama Was Moth".
Stars and Topsoil – A Collection (1982–1990) is a compilation album by the Scottish band Cocteau Twins, released on the 4AD label on October 16, 2000. The album featured tracks released during the group's time on 4AD between 1982 and 1990, covering every Cocteau Twins album from Garlands through Heaven or Las Vegas. The collection reached number sixty-three on the UK Albums Chart.
Aikea-Guinea is a March 1985 7" single and 12" EP by Scottish dream pop band Cocteau Twins, released on 4AD. The 7" featured two non-album tracks, while the EP added two more.
Echoes in a Shallow Bay is an EP by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, released on 4AD. The EP featured four non-album tracks. It was issued on 29 November 1985, two weeks after another EP, Tiny Dynamine. The two EP sets, which featured complementary artwork, were also released as a combined double EP in a gatefold cover, and as an eight-track CD. The EP was reissued in 1991 as part of The Box Set and in 2005 as part of the singles/EP collection Lullabies to Violaine. A new vinyl version, sourced from digital files created from a new transfer of the original analogue tapes, was released in 2015, combined with the Tiny Dynamine EP.
Tiny Dynamine is an EP by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, released on 4AD Records. The EP featured four non-album tracks. It was issued on 15 November 1985, two weeks prior to another EP, Echoes in a Shallow Bay. The two EP sets, which featured complementary artwork, were also released as a combined double EP in a gatefold cover and as an eight-track CD. The EP was later included in its entirety on the 1991 compilation The Box Set and the 2005 singles/EP collection Lullabies to Violaine.
"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 was a moderate 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.
The Pink Opaque is a 1986 compilation album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, composed of tracks recorded between 1982 and 1985. A joint release by the UK-based 4AD and the American Relativity Records, it was their first official U.S. release.
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.
Love's Easy Tears is an EP by Scottish dream pop band Cocteau Twins. It was released by 4AD in September 1986 as a 12" single, and was later re-released as a CD single with a fourth track, Orange Appled, included. The U.S. vinyl release also had four tracks but a different running order. It was the eighth EP released by the band, their last EP for 4AD, and their last EP until 1993's Snow.
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 as 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.
"Tishbite" is a single by Scottish band Cocteau Twins. It was released by Fontana Records in March 1996. It was the first single to be released from the UK top-20 album Milk & Kisses, the eighth and final long-play release from the band. The title of the song is an epithet of the prophet Elijah.
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.
"Violaine" is a single by Cocteau Twins. It was released by Fontana Records in July 1996. It was the second single to be released from the Milk & Kisses album, and their last single to be released from a non-compilation album. It reached No. 56 on the UK Singles Chart.
This is a comprehensive discography listing of Scottish singer Elizabeth Fraser who first achieved success during the 1980s as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. The band have had several UK top 40 albums, with four of their studio albums also reaching the Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States. Commercially, their most successful studio album, Heaven or Las Vegas was released in 1990 and reached number seven in the United Kingdom and number ninety-nine in the United States. Heaven or Las Vegas was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry. It eventually sold 235,000 copies by 1996, according to Billboard. The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and was voted number 218 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums. In 2020, Rolling Stone listed it at No. 245 in its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The band have had four of their studio albums reach number one on the UK Indie Chart.