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Cocteau Twins - 'Garlands' and 'Victorialand' Reissues Out Now
Cocteau Twins : 'Garlands' and 'Victorialand' Reissues Out Now
19th March 2020

“Garlands is a front-row seat at the birth of something astonishing.” Q 

“They sound bloody marvelous… There’s no better time to get reacquainted with this pioneering Scottish band’s exemplary and wonderfully idiosyncratic back catalogue.” 
Electronic Sound


“A band as elusive as Cocteau Twins is, to some extent, all loose ends – the kind of silvery threads they unravel behind them tend to lead deeper into their labyrinth… With all Cocteaus LP back in print, it’s (now) as gathered in as their still-mysterious music can be.” MOJO (Vinyl Package of the Month)

Today Victorialand and Garlands are reissued on vinyl. Both represses will be pressed on 140g black vinyl, using audio remastered from the original analogue tapes and with art faithful to their original 23 Envelope designs. Download codes are included with both.

Garlands

Garlands was the Cocteau Twins' debut album, released in the early autumn of 1982. It was the only album they made with original bassist Will Heggie. Describing it as “haunting”“spellbound”“diaphanous”, and discerning a “frosting of sweetness”, the critics wore out their adjectives; this was rock music - just - but it was conjured in the unlikeliest environment from the strangest of material.

This is Garlands’ first vinyl pressing in over ten years.

Available to buy from the 4AD Store here.

Victorialand

Victorialand, Cocteau Twins’ fourth album, was released in spring 1986. The largely acoustic, non-percussive album was made with Elizabeth and Robin, while Simon was working on This Mortal Coil's second album, Filigree & Shadow. Dif Juz label mate Richard Thomas guested on tabla and saxophone. The Guardian said "It’s not quite ambient, but it’s definitely not rock’n’roll even by the Cocteaus’ standards, building on the moments of guitar shimmer from the previous years’ EPs, while also stripping back at points to where it’s nothing but a Guthrie guitar line and Fraser’s voice."

This is Victorialand’s first vinyl pressing since the 80s, with this version cut at 33⅓ RPM.

 

Available to buy from the 4AD Store here.

You can find all previous represses available here.