The Other Press January 31, 1986 page 13 —___ ALBUM REVIEW=—— ov Cdu hans COCTEAU TWINS: Treasure [LP] & Aikea-Guinea [EP] Just what are they saying? That is a question one always asks when one hears a new album, but in the Cocteau Twins case the words aren’t as important as the sounds of the words. To be honest I’ve picked out about 10 words from the the LP and EP, but | don’t understand them. (I think some of it is in Gaelic; they’re Scottish.) The instrumentation is minimalist; at any one time one might hear an acoustic guitar, drums and a piano or synthesizer. There’s not ‘‘A Thou- sand Violins’’ to be heard, simply be- cause they don’t need them. Theyhave the most incredible vocals yet placed on vinyl, in terms of sheer beauty and depth. They are not quiet, and neither are the instruments in most cases, but one feels somehow calmed. The word I’m looking for to describe their music is unfortunately cliched, but the word is ‘‘hypnotic’’. Regardless of tempo or volume the songs never cease being soothing. Even the album cover expresses this quality of intangibility. The cover photo is of an empty white lace dress somehow suspended behind sheer (THE 12” E.P.) one song is a logical introduction to the next, there doesn’t need to be a division. | have no desire to say, “Hey, this is a good cut’’ because the album exists as a whole. In my mind there are no individual songs. Wheth- er it was intended that way or not, who cares? It’s my experience, and that’s how | see it—as an experience. At present, the Cocteau Twins don’t appear to be too well known in North America, but in England they have already garnered both critical and popular praise. In the April 27th, 1985 edition of The New Musical ‘Express (a national weekly music newspaper) they were number one in the independant 45’s with the Aikea- Guinea-EP and number two in the independant LP charts. The thing that makes this par- : ticular LP. and EP even further at- tractive is that in Canada one gets both of them for the price of just the LP. The EP is included at no extra cost although in Europe they were sold seperately. If you get the idea that | like the Cocteau Twins, you’re right. They are one of the most interesting groups half the deep And full of voices, slowly rose and plunged = Roaring, and all the wave was TREASURE. ina flame” (THE ALBUM) Tennyson, The Coming of Arthur + mo AIKEA-GUINEA A musician, yes—an artist, def ore The Ninth Wave “Wave after wave, each mightie than the last ‘Til last, a ninth one, gathering itely. Kate Bush is an “oral sculpt of the highest’ order; ; ‘music she captures emotion ‘intriguing images. Unlike many mt cians today, her music shows gen ‘and integrity. Kate Bush has a particular way ‘of ist suddenly éharts after no one has heard from her years. One might consider her a st figure; after three years at home tilding a sound studio, she turns out : a new LP and Kate Bush mania iéeads rapidly. he new LP, side one titled Hous pve and side two titled The Ninth ve, is again a. smashing ess foying all Kate Bush’s ing ttle : Hing up that Hill. Oilers songs Hed on this side a, Cloud th fentist is played fanadian Donald Sutherland. . change in Kate Bush’s udtial style: he uses a lot more rhythms and percussion and her voice:$$+1 Side two, The Nitth Wave, is more aracteristic of Kate Bush’ s other through reappearing in the for ‘Cloud Rdted that See a nusic more “get on to the rks. In songs such as Under Ice and flaking the Witch she uses her voice sound effects to create very eerie ae images. These songs are more like her old hits, such as Wuthering Heights off the album The Kick Inside curtains. As in the music, there are no hard lines, everything is soft. The song titles are unimportant. As that I’ve come across in the present drought of innovative ANGES hear. After all, it was so vibrant that g or Babooshika off The Dreaming. | NO REFUNDS OR EXCH everybody aeaddnl An danewitand. it Q myself prefer the second side, which ogee. a4 didn’t matter who you danced with so is more orchestrated and artistic. uy it NTR | WoL ARE *" long as you could get up and do your Overall, we album is suitable for Fe ee ALLSTARS_* own thing. anyone who appreciates imaginative K e AND LES-na MIN 6 Some of Walker’s songs were music. Lee ACRE RBAl | Rat “‘awesome’’ but due to the high _ — Cy WODLIR poe ape intensity of good times, the only one at current political and social issues, pOGRS aren Wan 4 % that really was memorable(the only: | CROSSING BORDERS oe, incisive humour to make its “49 “Walk right in, sit right down baby let your hair hang down.’’ It seems all sorts of walks of life made their way to the Commadore Ballroom on January the 18th. They may have walked in, but they sure did boogey out. Jr. Walker, after two songs had the dance floor packed with wild rhythm and blues. Mind you the warm up band, Vancouver based The Things helped to liven the masses. Someone said, in regards to The Things, ‘’They ain’t too bad for a bunch of white boys.”’ Back to Walker.. For ‘‘unbeliev- able’’ saxophone, he is the one to name caught) was Urgent. Theyplayed quite a few songs that were just a bee-boppin-good, but the names flew by. A friend who had never really listened to R & B said, ‘| have never really seen anything like that before and | really enjoyed it.’’ Walker was well worth wandering into the Commadore for. by KAREN HOOEY ae ROW San Francisco Mime Troupe It’s a domestic farce for the 80's, the insightful and hilarious story of a lesbian couple and an immigrant. Out of the very best of humanitarian motivations, one member marries a Salvadoran refugee, who proceeds to bring the entire family up to the land of the free. Needless to say, he discovers the hard way that the welcome mat extends only so far. The script, by Steve Most and Michele Linfante, is based on a popu- lar San Francisco radioseries entitled Voices in Exile. With the SFMT’s usual wit and flair, it takes a light look As usual, SFMT’s band is a dynam- ic presence in the play, with original songs and excellent musicianship. Its pool of veteran actors creates a cast of pure SFMT gold. A highly polished performance, with. the nano-second timing of successful comedy, Crossing Borders is a hoot—don’t miss it! At the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, January 30, 31 and February 1 at 8 p.m. Located at 1895 Venables street at Victoria Drive Tickets are on sale at VTC/CBO at 280-4444 and at all Front Row Centre outlets at 683-2017. Or, reservations can be made simply by calling the Cultch at 254-9578.