The most beautiful albums have elements that resemble the joy and sorrow of real life. This 1990 record does a perfect job incorporating the magic of childbirth with the pain of love and the loss of family. The sheer emotion dumped into this record, along with the dreamy ethereal vocals of Elizabeth Fraser, make the album truly outstanding. This album ties into previous records released by the Cocteau twins, though with a new found cleanliness to the audience. 

“Pitch the Baby” revolves around birthing and mothering children, while on the latter, “Frou-Frou Foxes In Midsummer Fires,” is all about the death of member Simon Raymonde’s father who passed during the production of the record. Songs such as “Iceblink Luck” have all themes present in a desperate attempt to remedy her love with fellow bandmate Robin Guthrie. This song additionally shows Fraser’s attempt to honor the death of Raymonde Sr. 

The mood really started to dip and show the crumpling of those important relationships through songs like “I Wear Your Ring” and “Fotzepolitic” truly bringing light to the complicated nature of these relationships, with factors such as fame, drugs, and family. This album is a beautiful surreal journey through the ways humans grieve as well as love. 

The album is widely regarded as a piece that one must hear in their lifetime and has been named in The Rolling Stones top 500 albums chart, placed at 245.

My personal favorite song – Heaven or Las Vegas

My personal least favorite song- Fifty-Fifty Clown

Overall rating 9.4/10 – Phenomenal