Cocteau Twins - Iceblink Luck b/w Mizake The Mizan (1990)
UK chart peak - Number 38
Not sure if the Twins might be MOOPY FAVES or not - I do hope so as they were a frigging brilliant & innovative band as well as being STALWARTS of the British indie scene for well over a decade, although a lot of their music kind of DEFIES CATEGORY. I'd wager that
@octophone may well have BEEN A FAN, or at the least, will have a few interesting insights on their influence on both 80s alternative music & the Scottish music scene GENERALLY.
The one word that always comes to mind when I think of the Cocteau Twins is SHIMMERY. "Iceblink Luck" is a prime example of it, although it might also just be the most radio friendly & commercial thing they ever did, & they were duly rewarded with a rare appearance at the lower end of the UK top 40. It's the sort of ethereal indie dream pop CONCOCTION that got the critics SALIVATING & Enya gnashing her teeth with JEALOUSY (probably). It puts together the whirling, layered guitars from prior hits with a clearer vocal style from Liz Fraser, who was once described as having the VOICE OF GOD, & does things that no other singer would think of attempting. It had enough crossover pop appeal to maybe be a bit of a bigger hit, but I think some buyers decided to wait for the album, "Heaven Or Las Vegas", sending it to the top 10. It's probably their finest work overall, so the success was well deserved.
The B side is a bit more of a "traditional" Twins song in that the dreamy sound is there, but Liz's vocals are virtually indecipherable & form part of the mix, rather than being at the forefront. It's a deliberate stylistic choice that makes them still sound like nobody else 35 years on. Liz was very influenced by things like mouth music & glossolalia & concentrated more on how things SOUNDED rather than if listeners could understand it. 1988 single "Carolyn's Fingers" is a prime example with its operatic swoops, & came within a whisker of topping the Modern Rock chart in the USA, kept off only by U2. I once worked with a woman called Carolyn who had fingers, so it must have been about her.
An iceblink is apparently a reflection off ice that causes an optical illusion in the sky, & shows another thing that the Cocteau Twins did that was unique: picking song titles based on how things felt & sounded rather than bearing any relation to the lyrics. Most of their song titles are
- "Tishbite", "Pearly Dewdrops Drops", "Cherry Coloured Funk", "Frou-Frou Foxes In Midsummer Fires", etc etc
Liz & guitarist Robin Guthrie's long term relationship came to an end in the early 90s & although the band ploughed on for a couple of albums, the lasting tensions saw them split for good in 1997. Liz has done the occasional bit of solo work & is well known as the vocalist on "Teardrop" by Massive Attack. She doesn't release much though & I tend to think it's because she gives it HER ALL musically & often finds the whole experience quite draining. The group almost reunited for a tour at one point, but Liz & Robin's tense relationship brought it to a halt & it seems unlikely to ever happen now, but their absence has seen their reputation, influence & MYSTIQUE only grow over the years.
I only know the song because it was in some “weird 80s videos” YouTube compilation but it was right up my lane. Sadly there isn’t much on US iTunes for them except a 2018 maxi single with a bunch of remixes and a couple of re-recorded versions
Not only was a good song, with the amount of shit there was in the 80s, who the hell voted that? 
- speaking of REACHING CLIMAX, Falco conducting the audience in the video in a tuxedo, as seen here on the cover, didn't HALF set my FANNY A FLUTTER 
