CD: 518259-2
RELEASED: 1993
LABEL: Polydor

01. Know Who You Are At Every Age
02. Evangeline
03. Bluebeard
04. Theft And Wandering Around Lost
05. Oil of angels
06. Squeeze Wax
07. My truth
08. Essence
09. Summerhead
10. Pur

Over the years, the Cocteau Twins have continued to refine their sound into something self-sufficient, self-contained and profoundly indifferent to the outside world. This seventh album doesn't exactly find them bidding goodbye to all that but it does find them bidding farewell to 4AD, designing their own cover and removing much of the veil of imprecision that has often allowed their songs to do little more than billow in the breeze. On the surface, not much has changed. The songs still have titles like Oil Of Angels or Squeeze-Wax and rarely accelerate much above a stately trot, the sounds cannot always be traced to any obvious instrument and Elizabeth Fraser's voice still sounds unique. Yet, while the Cocteaus remain committed to a fragile mood music, there is nothing self-indulgent or evasive about this collection. This is largely due to Fraser, whose vocals dominate every tune and whose lyrics no longer sound like someone thinking aloud in a private language. Some of this newfound focus finds the Cocteaus edging towards power ballad territory, a few of Fraser's mostly thrilling vocal arrangements border on the twee but, overall, Four Calendar Cafe shows that the Cocteaus can be bewitching without being merely mystifying.

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