a true masterpiece!
Reviewer: "incisalia" (Sunderland, MA United States)
This is arguably the most cohesive and consistent album in the Cocteau Twins' entire output. Victorialand has been hailed as a classic by critics and fans alike, and although such terminology is thrown around all too often, this album is certainly more than worthy of such praise. A unique and graceful flow begins very eloquently with the moon-like swelling guitar of "Lazy Calm," and this submissive invasion continues until the album's end. Songs such as "Fluffy Tufts," "Whale-Tails," and "Oomingmak" speak with the voice of an undiscovered country, yet one that thrives in the continents of the self, confined within ephemeral lines inscribed through human nature, and "Throughout the Dark Months of April and May" is like a bead drawn along a silver thread of communication. As is often the case with Cocteau Twins songs, every moment on this album feels like varying facets of a long journey. One which is devoid of consecutivity and order, and instead flows in all directions in a blissful surrender. This is not to say that, as a whole, these songs are brimming with homogeneity, for each is tinged with its own peculiar mode of expression. These are trails, wisps of smoke, half-spoken figures, incantations whose meanings have become lost to even the soothsayers themselves.
My futile descriptive attempts aside, I would say the personal highlight of this CD is "How to Bring a Blush to the Snow." Victorialand is worth buying for this song alone, although it is difficult for me to be selective when listening to such a coherent masterwork of utter beauty. This is truly, in my opinion, a pure aural journal of nocturnal travel which has few (if any) equals.
The instrumentation is sparse compared to other Cocteau Twins endeavors, but this lends a rather folk-like atmosphere which is rather fitting for the interal nature of these songs, as if they are wanderers spreading the hymns of their conceptual homeland. Robin Guthrie's guitar, in many guises, dominates here, yet never seems at contention with Elizabeth Fraser's voice. There is a mature and shimmering harmony (both literal and figurative) achieved here.
Buy this album, place it gently into the cradle of your CD player, turn the lights off, light a candle, draw a bath with some rose petals, and close your eyes...you will not regret it.
От себя: Про этот альбом можно говорить долго, но лучше всё-таки один раз послушать.
IMHO этот альбом уверенно делит 1-е место среди самых лучших альбомов Cocteau Twins EVER
с "Four-Calendar Cafe", но всё-таки чуть-чуть перетягивает. "Treasure" на 2-м месте.
© 2000–2012 NoNaMe