CD: GAD807CD
RELEASED: 2003
LABEL: 4AD

01. Blue Bell Knoll
02. Athol-Brose
03. Carolyn's Fingers
04. For Phoebe Still A Baby
05. Itchy Glowbo Blow
06. Cico Bluff
07. Suckling The Mender
08. Spooning Good Singing Gum
09. Kissed Out Red Floatboat
10. Ella Megablast Burls Forever

2003 reissue of 1988 album digitally remastered by Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie. No band has managed to duplicate the Cocteau Twins' sound, and none should try. And even if they could get the music right, who could possibly decipher Elizabeth Fraser's lyrics? After the airiness of their previous album "Victorialand", "Blue Bell Knoll", the Cocteau Twins' fifth album, returns them to the swirling ethereality of earlier collections. Anchoring the interplay of Elizabeth Fraser's vocals and Robin Guthrie's effects-treated guitars with drum machine patterns and stronger bass lines makes for somewhat more traditional songs, and also frees them. "Suckling the Mender" even has room for two glittering guitar solos. Standout tracks include "Carolyn's Fingers, " featuring Elizabeth Fraser's voice pining and sweeping over a shuffling beat, the slow-paced "For Phoebe Still A Baby, " dedicated to Fraser's unborn child, that adds a xylophone in the mix, and "Spooning Good Singing Gum, " bedecked with Guthrie's echoing, multi-tracked guitars. As good as these cuts are, however, the best of the bunch are the album's last two tracks, "A Kissed Out Red Floatboat, " and "Ella Megalast Burls Forever" Alone, either would justify the price of admission, but together they make this, out of many great Cocteau Twins albums, one of the best.

Influences / Similar Artists:
Breathless, Lowlife, This Mortal Coil, Dif Juz, Kitchens of Distinction