Cocteau Twins Atlas / Four-Calendar Café


Four-Calendar Café 1993 CD
Title	Time	Comment	My Rating
Know who You are at Every Age	3.38	see Faye Wong	* * * * *
Know who You are at Every Age	3.38	Beautiful. The lyrics are actually possible to make out in some places, and I have to admit they are a bit corny "I won't heal unless I cry...". But in this glorious surrounding they feel right. The song feels so pure with everything beautiful and in place somehow.	* * * * *
Evangeline	4.29	see Evangeline	* * * * *
Evangeline	4.29	Pretty, in much the same way as Know who You are at Every Age. The same kind of lyrics and instrumentation.	* * * * *
Bluebeard	3.54	see Faye Wong and Bluebeard	* * * *
Bluebeard	3.54	This is a an obvious hit. Even the title and refrain is kind of obvious, with Elizabeth Fraser singing "Are you the right man for me?" and the title referring to the fairytale of the man who slaughtered all his wives and kept them hidden in a secret room, for his present wife not to see them. Anyway I think it is brilliant, and a friend of mine who heard Bluebeard as her first Cocteau Twins song ever, was thrilled about it.	* * * *
Theft, and Wandering Around Lost	4.30	Dreamy with soft voices surrounding a relaxed melody.	* * * *
Oil of Angels	4.37	Probably the saddest song of the album. From the beginning there is a melancholic feel to it, and it never picks up. It is slightly too long, the melody a bit boring, but of course it is gorgeously pretty.	* * *
Squeeze-Wax	3.48	Perfect beginning, which throws the listener into the song. After that the melody just excels and Fraser's singing swirls into new heights. The repetition of the name Lucy is directed towards Elizabeth Fraser's daughter and the bits where she sings "You amaze me" therefore takes on a whole new meaning.	* * * * *
My Truth	4.32	Like Oil of Angels, kind of slow and sad and pretty.	* * *
Essence	3.01	Again, the same feeling as in Oil of Angels and My Truth. This is the slowest one. It consists mainly of voice, with the music like a cloud around it.	* * *
Summerhead	3.37	I love the summery feel of this song! It makes me want to dance. Last year when I went to a school of creative writing, we made a radio show with alternating summer texts and music. I wrote about a childhood memory and chose Summerhead as my song. It captured the feeling of walking under an endless sky.	* * * * *
Pur	5.02	Pur is the song I can not understand. A lot of people think it one of their favourites and funny enough this is the only song my mum likes. And that is, the only song out of everything I listen to! It is magic, she says, the rest is not. I like the beginning of the song, where Fraser says/sings "I'm glad you are a girl", but after that I think it is nice but nothing special. Recently there was a debate on the Cocteau Twins mailing list on Pur, a lot of people thought it is the essence of Cocteau Twins music, thus very typical in matters of layering and the way the song explodes after a placid beginning. Well, maybe I can agree on that, but it is definitely not the first song I would play to a Cocteau Twins fan wannabe.	* * *

This could be considered the Cocteau Twins most commercial album, with very accessible melodies, slightly clearer lyrics and less dreaminess somehow. However I think Four-Calendar Café is one of their best. It is bright and shiny, and I think the cover kind of says it: 4CC is like a box of wondrous things.