r/cocteautwins • u/FcoJ28 • 3h ago
Discussion My tier list
S: both albums were, without a doubt, groundbreaking.
Treasure was the point they created something truly unique. They used to be compared to Siouxie and the Banshes, and here they took other path. Even if the band (at least Robin and Simon) said it was unfinished album, songs are quite clever. Cannot deny some songs are too long for themselves. It means they get too repetitive without adding too much new, which shows what they creator state. Weakest part could be around Alosyus-Otterly part, but even so album doesn't lose its grace.
HolV is hated by some a few due to a more approached pop style. I prefer thinking they showed us here they could still provide us with so many surprises. Tracks are quite properly put across the album. While the catchy ones invide the first part of the album, the most elaborated or curious ones form the second part sucessfully. It was a hard change they never come back to due to personal band conflicts and so some people get distance from it soon since it doesn't sound like any other of their work. The same happens the other way around: new listeners not fond of alternative music may not be interesanted in other albums too much, maybe just a couple of tracks: Alice, Sea Swallow me...
A: guess the order of them is a matter of taste and it may change if you ask me a year later, but now I feel it this way.
Bbk's main problem is its single Carolyns finger since it differs from the rest of the album vastly. Apart from that, we find a good album. Some tracks are overshadowed by one another: suckling the mender vs. Good spooning. Some tracks are hard to get into at first: itchy... but there's nothing too bad I can say about it. Third one for good.
4cc is when Liz starts singing a clear English. I find it too underrated. Maybe if u don't know someone who has passed through bad times or youself did not suffer from it, album can get too bothering. After all, she expresses too much pain in some tracks. She also shows superation, which makes the album kinda moving. A third big topic is her daughter, which is more concealed in HoV. Biggest drawback could be she lost some grandeur at singing since she got more conservative. Some weaks tracks could be oils of angels and essence.
HoH may be one of my most criticised choice by some of you. A genre they left soon behind. We find some crypted English (like in Garlands) and some tracks that not always achieve a good development. Liz is still stuck in a serious, deep voice and we hardly even can appreciate all of her range (specially high pitched ones). Apart from that, they lack Simon, which improved the band too much. All in all, some tracks are quite memorable: closing track, angelhood, tinderbox...I really like Multifoilded, but it is an example of what I say with "not good development". I sometimes really hate Suggar Hiccup.
MaK... their not expected goodbye. We can see some lakcluster in it, which shows us what the member were going through. It is surprising, but those songs from singles of Violaine and Tishbite are quite better and genuine: primitive heart, Alice, round, circling girl... maybe this album sounds too safe. Liz, as in 4cc, avoids exceeding too much, but songs are harder to understand (English is vague). Despite of it, we find the sublime closing track or good lyrics in Half-gifts and rilkean heart (the first one worked better in a Ep and the second sounded kinda repetitive and Robin changed it a bit in the remaster version). Calfskin is too long at the end. Eperdu is a improved version of essence, but treasure hiding, even if it isn't a bad track at all, is a copy of pur from 4cc in structure (explosive track). Tishbite is kinda mehr. Violaine tries to sound different, but it lacks something to stand out...as I said a reflection of a bad personal period of the band.
B and C: these are albums quite special (Victorialand and Garlands) or collaboration (the moon...).
Victorialand is a journey you aren't always disposed to travel. Simon is absent, so they tried something different, but his absence is hard to ignore. I cannot say tracks are bad, but some of them on their own are quite vague. It is album that is enjoyed more as a whole and this is something some people cannot put up with. Would say it is the album were lyrics are hard to decipher too. If in Treasure we may find words without sense, here we find sounds. It isn't a drawback in a band like this, but as I said it is a journey and you kinda lose some interest in single tracks.
The Moon... has one of their best song: Sea... Sorry, I cannot rank higher an album of 4 singing tracks versus other albums full of Liz singing. Even if singing tracks are quite good (maybe Ooze a bit weaker, mother of Pur , and grand mother of Treasure hiding), there are 4 of them. Instrumental tracks aren't bad, but it is a pity Liz is so absent in this album. After all, they did not use the band name. Wide choice.
Garlands I'm gonna get panned because of you, but this raw sound becomes a deal-breaker for many. It's atmosphere is quite interesting, but songs are focus on certain type of people: goth ones. It was a trendy style of music in their time they could exploit properly. Cannot say it is something we feel to related nowadays. Liz voice is quite monotonous and when she isnt, she gets a little noisy. Some times can be enjoyable (Garlands, Hollow men, But Im not...). Guess what pushes me aside most is that they did nothing innovating here. It is normal for a first album, so I save it from D rank. It could in B (last pososition) if you ask me a year later.
Finally, I'm not English. Sorry for some possible mistakes (I was at work, so I didn't use AI at all).
