Cocteau Twins
Lullabies To Violaine

THE REVIEW

There is little to say, to comment, or to advise when the Cocteau Twins are the protagonists. Much has been repeated about this Scottish band, yet their fame is still certainly not commensurate with their merit, their Art.

The dual voice of Elizabeth Fraser, rises like a trail of light, initially fluorescent and crystalline, like a naive and mischievous child, then later more opaque, rough, almost cynically absorbed in her own chirping and imaginative musings, at times so similar to that of her ambiguous colleague Jon Birgisson (Sigur Ròs).

The fact is that one day our friends decided to lift us a bit from the gloomy thought that we could never again savor those sweet dream-pop litanies which for so long cradled our souls, and even less to see other exquisite testimonies of the true Cocteau Twins, and not just Elizabeth Fraser solo, who in recent years participates in ephemeral appearances first here, then there among the cruel and bloody world of soundtracks (while they are always excellent performances, it's undeniable). And how better to please us?
By presenting us on a silver platter a wonderful box-set (superb artwork, stunning graphics) that contains everything (or almost everything) artistic that until recently could be enjoyed by the few privileged ones who owned the LPs (unfindable, indeed). The result? Well, it's not even up for discussion.

In each of the 4 splendid CDs of "Lullabies To Violaine" I challenge anyone to find a song that isn't a gem, a gift that a deity, whoever it was, wanted to bestow upon Humanity in the form of golden vocal cords of our darling; certainly, many, too many years have passed, and too much time has been literally lost, thrown into the mud, but she is still here, they are still here, alive, to delight us with their orgiastic rituals, with those authentic libidinous spasms of streamers, sharp and phosphorescent colors, sounds that pierce and break through the barriers of earthly reality inundating us with intense light, who knows how, who knows where...

And, wrapped in the clear and faint longing for a utopian reunion like those that sometimes happen, just like miracles (see the label mates Dead Can Dance in the grandiose and triumphant tour of 2005), let's enjoy this latest masterpiece that will bring us so much joy in the languor of warm summer days.