Treasure
by Cocteau Twins

From Brad1770 08/20/2023 10:59 | #298738

It has been said everyone has their year of sexual awakening, 1984 wasn’t mine but it sure was the year of my musical awakening and this album / band / label had a huge impact on forging my musical destiny.

I first heard “Cocteau Twins” as part of the This Mortal Coil ‘It Will End In Tears’ collaboration that came out earlier that year & in particular Frasers masterpiece cover of Tim Buckley’s “Song To The Siren”. Then towards the end of 84 ‘Treasure’ came out and pretty much blew my mind and that was it …there was no going back. There was something otherworldly about their sound, I didn’t know it at the time but really what I was hearing was ground zero for dream pop (their previous two albums were more post punk/ goth ‘Treasure’ set the dream pop template). And to top off the mystique the album didn’t feature dorky awkward band shots, no, it had an abstract and weird cover kinda like the music itself. The tracks had odd one word titles like “Lorelei” and “Persephone” and “Otterly” none of which made a scrap of sense nor did the lyrics which really couldn’t be deciphered or understood. All I knew is it wasn’t top 40, it wasn’t Bruce Springsteen, it wasn’t Kenny Logins , simply it was awesome and I needed to hear more more more

So yeah thats my ‘Treasure’ story

‘Treasure’ really is a treasure even if the band itself despise it

A breath of fresh air in 1984, this is a mix of goth, new wave and 80s indie that will soon evolve into shoegaze and dream pop. This album is ethereal, mysterious nighttime experience and works really great as a whole. Each track is similar to another, but not to a degree when it becomes irritating.

From Jboy56 01/31/2022 08:01 | #280327

Ethereal yes, but in my deep mind this is not my music, Beautiful and nonsensical :)

ethereal alluring alternative mystic dream

Album Rating: 86.40
(864/10)

Side A

1. "Ivo" - 88
2. "Lorelei" - 93
3. "Beatrix" - 86
4. "Persephone" - 98
5. "Pandora (for Cindy)" - 89

Side B

1. "Amelia" - 81
2. "Aloysius" - 86
3. "Cicely" - 76
4. "Otterley" - 79
5. "Donimo" - 88

From teague 02/27/2021 21:28 | #266759

A lot rawer than Heaven or Las Vegas.

From DaVGManiac 07/05/2018 12:33 | #217797

This album is an underrated classic. I like how well her vocals match with the nonsensical lyrics. Also, in order to properly enjoy it, the music must be listened at nighttime on full volume.

Creates such a wonderful vibe and atmosphere whenever I listen to it. "Otterley" is amazing.

From corenfro 11/30/2017 03:52 | #202357 | TOP COMMENT

How is this not #1 for 84 or in top 5 for the 80's? Compared to their magnum opus, Treasure is more diffuse sonically. It feels like you are in a large room maybe a cave with crystals and there's more reverb on the vocals and some sound vocals sound close to the listener and some seem far away. Lots of echo on the drums to make it feel distant. Much more of a 3 dimensional ethereal space. More textbook ethereal than their other work although it strays occasionally, where Vegas to me is more shoegaze and borderlines on psychedelic dream pop.

But textures aside at the core it's the songwriting that is stellar. The composition of the music and the performances are amazing. The forward looking production and textural bliss doesn't hurt.

Crinimally underrated band and album.