My Top 20 Cocteau Twins Songs

"I was working at this record store on Melrose (Vinyl Fetish) and these two vaguely goth girls were arguing over whether Liz Fraser was actually singing 'Sugar Hiccup on Cheerios.' I told them I had heard that she was actually saying 'Sugar Hiccup, on she reels' and that Sugar Hiccup was the name of a horse that had died. They looked at me as if I'd revealed the secret of the universe." (Steven Schayer, of the bands Clay Idols and The Chills, quoted in the liner notes of the CD, Postpunk Chronicles: Left of the Dial, 1999)

With the recent comeback of dream pop, shoegazey guitar layering and ambient soundscapes, the name Cocteau Twins gets thrown around a lot now. You might recognize lead singer Elizabeth Fraser's voice from The Lovely Bones movie trailer (they used the band's final B-side, "Alice") or from the House M.D. TV show theme (which is an edited sample of Massive Attack's "Teardrop"). I remember seeing Cocteau Twins in my BMG and Columbia House CD catalogs back in high school, but I never knew what they sounded like until I got Rhino Records' Left of the Dial box set (quoted above). After I heard "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops" for the first time, I felt compelled to listen to every other song they ever made. If you're already more familiar with the band than I was but still looking for something similar, may I recommend early Lush, some Mahogany, or guitarist Robin Guthrie's remixes for Olive, School of Seven Bells and Ulrich Schnauss.

1. "Feather Oar-Blades" (1982) from the EP, Lullabies
2. "In Our Angelhood" (1983) from the album, Head Over Heels
3. "Sugar Hiccup" (1983) from the album, Head Over Heels
4. "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops (7" Version)" (1984) from the EP, The Spangle Maker
5. "Another Day"(1984) - This Mortal Coil; from the album, It'll End in Tears
6. "Lorelei" (1984) from the album, Treasure
7. "Sultitan Itan" (1985) from the EP, Tiny Dynamite
8. "Lazy Calm" (1986) from the album, Victorialand
9. "Fluffy Tufts" (1986) from the album, Victorialand
10. "Love's Easy Tears" (1986) from the single of the same name; my absolute favorite Cocteau Twins song
11. "Orange Appled" (1986) B-side on the single, Love's Easy Tears
12. "Eyes Are Mosaics" (1986) from the album, The Moon and the Melodies
13. "Ooze Out and Away, Oneshow" (1986) from the album, The Moon and the Melodies
14. "Suckling the Mender" (1988) from the album, Blue Bell Knoll
15. "A Kissed Out Red Floatboat" (1988) from the album, Blue Bell Knoll
16. "Cherry-Coloured Funk" (1990) from the album, Heaven or Las Vegas
17. "Bluebeard" (1993) from the album, Four-Calendar Cafe
18. "Seekers Who Are Lovers (Mark Clifford Remix)" (1995) from the EP, Otherness
19. "Eperdu" (1996) from the album, Milk & Kisses
20. "Hypo-Allergenic" (1996) - Spooky; from the album, Found Sound