I came away with mostly good impressions, but there were a few caveats in the package. It would be hypocritical of me to expect a consistent style throughout the album, as there are 15 different artists performing the songs, but there is definitely a variance as to how well-produced the songs are. Some of the artists (Rhea's Obsession, Trance to the Sun, Absinthee) really go all out in transforming the original tunes into darker, menacing constructs (personally, I loved the strings in "Shallow Then Halo" - good touch). On the other hand, some artists have good ideas for the songs, but don't seem to execute them well - "Iceblink Luck" is particularly disappointing in that regard, with underwhelming vocals and bad drumming, and "Wax and Wane" suffers from vocal deficiency as well. I'm not saying all these singers should sound like Elizabeth Fraser herself - that's a tall order for anyone to fill - but there's room for improvement. Finally, some songs don't deviate much from the original sound, but update it nicely; "Amelia" and "In Our Angelhood" are examples of these.

It's a mixed bag, sure. Overall, though, I enjoyed this CD; hearing new versions of songs that, in some cases, are over 15 years old is always interesting. In short, fans of the Cocteau Twins who know the original songs will probably find something here that they like. If you've never heard the Cocteaus' music before, though, I recommend buying one of their albums first - after all, no one does these songs better than the Twins themselves!


You've got to be joking...   November 9, 2000
 4 out of 8 found this review helpful

Any and all of the Cleopatra "tribute" CDs are trash. This Cocteau tribute is no different. If you're in the mood for sub-mediocrity than please buy this CD


Dark Treasures?????   June 28, 2002
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

I'm still looking for the treasures on this horrific release? I have yet to hear a respectable cover of a Cocteau Twins song. In my opinion the only decent track on this release is by The Autumns. This truly is a collection of amateur bands trying way to hard to cover a legendary band!


it's gothic   August 8, 2004
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I think a few of the previous reviewers wanted the Twins and weren't aware of the "gothic tribute" part of the album title. If you don't like goth, don't buy it because you won't like it. If you do like goth, I think you'll like this. Darkening the brilliant shoegazing work of Robin Guthrie (continued so well in Violet Indiana) was an excellent idea.

Calling these bands "amateur bands" shows a complete ignorance of the gothic genre. Most of them have very impressive resume's.