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Rating: "Treasure" is recognized as one of the fundamental albums of the New Wave.
Dream Pop is its field of action, yet it often transcends it in favor of a total music experience. The dark and gothic influences are evident, and the extraordinary musical richness is perfectly balanced between ethereal moments and others more delightfully "human." There is no encyclopedic ambition; everything that emerges from the album is pure emotion transposed into music. Nothing is truly premeditated; rather, the sounds emerge from the essence of the tracks themselves and from what they aim to express.
It begins with the intense "Ivo", one of the most incisive tracks on the album. Elizabeth Fraser enchants us with her soaring and hypnotic singing, but it’s the sound wave that wraps us that captivates. The acoustic guitar is soon complemented by a true tide of sounds. Bells, echoes, the distant distorted guitar. Thus, we have a sound that is full, exuberant, and lush. All this richness lays on compositions that are nearly perfect. From the start, it is clear that this album is something unique and unrepeatable. From the first listen, we are captivated by the sparkling power of "Treasure", a magic that has rarely been equaled in history.
"Lorelei" accentuates this bewitching magic. A gothic alchemy pervades the air. The sweet singing, the enveloping keyboards, and an original rhythm carve out a sound poem. By the third track, we are already so fulfilled that we ask for nothing more. And yet "Beatrix" arrives, a nocturnal psalm. To the general amazement at the beauty of the tracks, there is also the significant merit of knowing how to vary the theme. Indeed, even as we traverse shadowy meanders, the dreamlike magic remains intact by the third track. We have a blend of dark music and dream pop. Now it's "Persephone’s" turn; a disorienting howl climbs over jagged sounds, there are Nordic echoes, gothic calls, all in a sort of reinterpretation of the early new wave.
After four songs, the variety and beauty are such that you could easily stop and start over. This says a lot about the value of "Treasure".
"Pandora" is one of the most evocative moments; a ballad with a rolling rhythm, pure ecstasy. The dream pop enters our veins and transforms the soul. The execution is perfect; not a single note is out of place. And what about the singing? There are no words to describe the infinite emotions it evokes. "Amelia" continues, excellently, on this path. This time with a more soaring melody and greater pathos, accentuated by the throbbing rhythm. "Aloysius" is an elf song transposed to an icy land. Songs like these are hard to find elsewhere. The greatness of the Cocteau Twins is remarkable, but in this album, there’s something beyond technique or individual abilities. There is a hidden soul that moves among the 10 songs that make up the album. The work of art surpasses the artist, in short.
The atmosphere changes significantly with "Cicely", finding us in a swirling psychedelic journey. There are moments of incredible intensity. Synth and dark merge and something different emerges. "Otterley" is instead a journey into the depths of the ocean. Leaden colors paint the sky. It becomes clear how the Cocteau Twins master multiple styles. "Treasure" is proof of this, the absolute pinnacle of Dream Pop, but also capable of bringing along numerous creative insights.
The religious singing of "Donimo", combined with the vespertine atmospheres, is proof of this. We transcend the simple new wave. We hold a magical vial in our hands. Formal perfection, overflowing content, and an unrepeatable climate make "Treasure" one of the most important albums in rock history and also one of the most enjoyable; even for the casual listener, these songs are stardust.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Ivo (03:56)
Peep hole, Peach blow, Pandora, Pompadour
Pale leaf, Pink sweet, Persephone, Near our ivo
Peep peep hole, Bit animal, Peep peep
He didn't deal, little rito, Peep peep hole
With the part animal, Peep peep, Near our ivo
Peep peep hole, Bit animal, Peep peep
He didn't deal, little ivo
Peep peep hole
With the part animal
Peep hole, Peach blow, Pandora, Pompadour
Pale leaf, Pink sweet, Persephone, Near our ivo
Peep peep hole, Bit animal, Peep peep
He didn't deal, little rito, Peep peep hole
With the part animal, Peep peep, Near our ivo
Peep peep hole, Bit animal, Peep peep
He didn't deal, little ivo
Peep peep hole
With the part animal
Predentive, Predo
Pra-da-da-dee
Peep hole, Peach blow, Pandora, Pompadour
Pale leaf, Pink sweet, Persephone
Peep hole, Peach blow, Pandora, Pompadour
Pale leaf, Pink sweet, Persephone
Near our ivo
Peep peep hole
Bit animal
Peep peep
He didn't deal, little ivo
Peep peep hole
With the part animal
Peep peep
Near our ivo
Peep peep hole
Bit animal
Peep peep
He didn't deal, little ivo
Peep peep hole
With the part animal
Peep peep
Peep hole, Peach blow , Pandora
02 Lorelei (03:42)
Get off the car
Kick his chain, Kick his pride
Get him soaked hit run
Lift up your toes
In my mouth
And we can make love
And we can go
And we can go
And we can go
And we can go
And we can go
We're covered by the sacred fire
When you come to me, you come to broke
Get off the car
Kick his chain, Kick his pride
Get him soaked hit run
Lift up your toes
In my mouth
And we can make love
And we can go
And we can go
And we can go
And we can go
And we can go
We're covered by the sacred fire
When you come to me, you come to broke
Without a doubt
Without a doubt
Without a doubt
Without a doubt
Without a doubt
Without a doubt
Without a doubt
Without a doubt
Without a doubt
Without a doubt
Without a doubt
Without a doubt
Without a doubt
Without a doubt
Without a doubt
We're covered by the sacred fire
When you come to me, you come to me broke
Guilty girl, Guilty boy
Get to make out
Him chocked with mousse
Lift up your toes
In my mouth
And we can make love
And we can go
We're covered by the sacred fire
When you come to me, you come to me broke
Guilty girl, Guilty boy
Get to make out
Him chocked with mousse
Lift up your toes
In my mouth
And we can make love
And we can go
03 Beatrix (03:13)
Every week, Move is small
When he cared, When he did love
When he knew, When he'd fall
I hear she'd fall, Ha, she fell
Here she'd fall, Ha, she fell
(x3)
Fallen on, Fallen on do we(??)
Fallen on, Fallen on me
(x3)
Fall
[note that she sings gibberish, it just sounds like those words... roughly]
04 Persephone (04:26)
Hey, the chances I must waste
Hey, ever dirt even there month got a car
Here's what it takes (x4)
Paper chase is on
These are on my speed
For he warbled
Bought arachnophobe
On the tiara, By the gin's rack
Paper chase is on
These are on my space
Paper chase is on Hey, the chances I must face
These are on my speed Oh, you warbler
For he warbled Hey, that's by the car
Bought arachnophobe
On the tiara
By the gin's rack
Paper chase is on
These are on my space
I watch him trail (x4)
Hey, for eight means paper chace Paper warm beings means the paper chace
For our time being's For our time being's never changes this
Never changes this (x2)
Here's what it takes (x6)
Paper warm beings means the paper chace Here's what it takes
For our time being's never changes this
(x3)
Here's what it takes
Hey, for eight means paper chase
For our time being's never changes this
(x2)
06 Amelia (03:31)
Who've been wounded
Who should wound her
Heart on the grasp
Who but who put on the heart
He, and me, along said we, but burn
He, and me, along said we, but burn
He, and me, along said we, but burn
Hounded by the mask, but then...
Wounded on the grasp
Wounded on the grasp
Wounded on the grasp
Wounded on the grasp
Wounded on the grasp
Wounded on the grasp
07 Aloysius (03:28)
Silly silly saliva
Sassy shear near
She should've
She sighed the grove
Ska pop
Sa pum
Sa po
Silly silly saliva
Sassy shear near
She should've
She sighed the grove
Ska pop
Sa pum
Sa po
08 Cicely (03:29)
He must smoke spum dames by our lay
Charge are we nicks he'll needs our first very edge
Now beautiful I'll tell my mind
Cloud mannered a lot
Tell the king to park his soul
For being an old beat
So in spirit
So maximum
That only water's more deep
To find him
Deals trust him by them all
He must smoke spum dames by our lay
Charge are we nix ill needs our first very edge
Now beautiful I'll tell my mind
How many tell the king to park his soul
09 Otterley (04:16)
I'm sure
Allow me
Please
Get help
Only in your note
Only listen
Where are you going
Oh, the song would
Whose mousse
Sell our little home
That's what I'm saying
It's almost right
It's a loved one
It's oh, so hard
You should go home
Through the pain
Sure
Bravo
Please
Please
Pull
Only the lonely
Sell some
Sell our minnow
Suppose he can
If we aren't home
So come over
So sleep
It's so hard
It's also ugly
Leveled home
Bricks so
So firm
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Other reviews
By Cleo
"Every time I close my eyes while listening to 'Treasure', this is what I feel."
"It is very difficult to describe this album truly built on intangible evocations."
By g.unreal
Approaching Treasure with downcast eyes... one wrong glance could shatter it.
You enter the album and lose the opaque layer that covers the inside, our inside.
By CosmicJocker
Esoteric dream-pop irradiates the dust of reality with magical sand; cornucopias filled with silvery harmonies, rippling rhythms, and ringing timbres.
Crystalline and foamy notes crash against the voice of a siren; pagan and lunar warbles that strip words of meaning, bringing them back to a primitive purity.
By Rager99
Treasure is a work that has now lost all those "muscular" remains usually associated with the macro-genre, towards a sound that oozes elegance and femininity from every pore.
Elizabeth Fraser who more than sings seems to "play" the voice, with vocalizations and words that lack regularity and logical connection between them and that almost seem to create a "private language."
