Sunday, November 2, 2014

Cocteau Twins – Treasure

Yesterday (November 1st) marked the thirtieth anniversary of Treasure, the third studio album from the Scottish band the Cocteau Twins. It peaked at number 34 in New Zealand, number 32 in Sweden, number 29 on the UK Pop chart and number 2 on the UK Indie chart.


Side one opens with ethereal “Ivo”. The repeated lyrics play on the letter P with a bunch of random words and phrases like peep hole, peach blow, and pompadour. It also references two later tracks – Pandora and Persephone. I certainly did not get the overall meaning.

“Lorelei” is a song that deals with temptation and lust. The guitar line is very hypnotic.

“Beatrix” has a very exotic, very eastern sound to it musically. The lyrics come from a place of loneliness and abandonment.

“Persephone” changes things up with an edger rock guitar riff.

The mood shifts again with “Pandora (For Cindy)”, this time taking on a jazzy feel. Lyrically, this one is brought to you by the letter F, for Ferdinand, forty feet, fish fate, and formidable.

Side two begins with firmly swaying “Amelia”, a song from which I got a strong sense of betrayal.

The alliteration is back on “Aloysius”, this time with the letter S.

The percussion on “Cicely” has a bit of an espionage vibe to it.

“Otterley”, with its breathless vocals, is very haunting.

The closing track “Donimo” is also the longest, clocking in at over six minutes. It layers in a few different styles as it moves along on a dream-like wave.

This was my first look into Treasure. While I liked it musically, I did not feel any deep connection to the lyrics. I guess I was never one of those deep navel gazing kind of people, contemplating the world is abstract terms and imagery. This is probably one I would only put on for some background, ambiance music.

For more of the Cocteau Twins, click here.

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