Cocteau Twins: Victorialand

At the time I bought this, when it came out in 1986, I think I had everything the Cocteau Twins had ever done. After this, my buying stopped abruptly and was only resuscitated 13 years later for the BBC Sessions (most of which come from before 1986).

It's fair to infer that I thought the Cocteau Twins had gone off the boil with this. I believe I thought that the wispy tenor of the album and titles like Fluffy Tufts were getting a bit close to self-parody. Another factor was that I think John Peel, who had plugged everything they'd done up to and including this point, dropped them off his playlist after 1986. Certainly they did no more Peel Sessions, and only once again appeared in the Festive 50.

That was all more than 20 years ago. I no longer feel that the album is disappointing. Not awe-inspiring, but not disappointing either. I like songs like Through the Dark Months of April and May and The Thinner the Air. I think it maybe time to explore those later albums, like Heaven or Las Vegas that I've never heard. Happily they are all available on eMusic.

Wikipedia explains the Antarctica theme running through the album, which I'd never been aware of before.

MusicBrainz entry for this album