artist: Cocteau Twins country of origin: UK style(s): Ambient pop/rock essential releases: The Pink Opaque (1986, 4AD) Victorialand (1986, 4AD) Moon and The Melodies [with Harold Budd] (1986, 4AD) Blue Bell Knoll (1988, 4AD)

The music of Scottish duo Robin Guthrie and Elizabeth Fraser - later expanding a trio by Simon Raymonde - virtually defines the term ambient pop. Regarded as the house band during their lengthy residency at the eclectic British label 4AD, The Cocteau Twins’ blissful, enigmatic mood music is utterly distinctive and very special.

The compilation album The Pink Opaque is a good summary of the group’s early work and an excellent introduction to the band. While many tracks have a recognizable song structure, this is far from conventional pop. The Cocteau’s fuzzy, ethereal swirls of synth and guitar, the unhurried rhythms and Fraser’s quite extraordinary singing make for music that’s unmistakably the group’s own. Fraser’s multitracked vocals climb, dive and soar effortlessly, sounding like some mutant cross between Enya and Kate Bush. It doesn’t matter that her lyrics are often impossible to make out, or that her song titles are so insistently bizarre; the Cocteau’s rich sonic bath is reward enough.

The band’s distinctive sound matures on Victorialand and Blue Bell Knoll. “Lazy Calm” from Victorialand is the Cocteau’s brand of instrumental sound at its most rapturous, while the band’s peculiar pop sensibilities reach an apex on “Whales Tales” and, from the latter album, “The Itchy Glowbo Blow”. The Moon And The Melodies is a collaboration with Californian ambient pianist Harold Budd, an inspired meeting of the Cocteau’s ethereal sound with Budd’s wistful, lyrical keyboards.

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