In the awkwardness meter, The Cocteau Twins land somewhere a bit more awkward than Kate Bush but eons cooler than Enya. Check out “Carolyn’s Fingers” and you’ll know right away if you’re a Cocteau fan or not. Personally, I love this weird shit… it’s ethereal and entrancing… the melodies sink into your subconscious and weave themselves into your mind matter. The wiki mentions something about “mouth music”… weird. I don’t have to sell this to fans: it’s an 18 track comp of their prime years (1982-90) pressed in deluxe 4AD packaging. So if you ditched your CD collection, this might be a nice re-entry. Recommended.

• black double vinyl pressing
• gatefold sleeve
• printedinserts
• music label: 4AD

reviewed by the mgmnt 02/2012