snow day: cocteau twins sunburst and snowblind

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As the winter weather creeps across the lower 48, many of us are holed up with blankets, DVD box sets and bowls of chicken noodle soup.

But if you're all caught up on Dexter and just feel like staring out the window, what better accompaniment to the frigid bleakness than the 1983 Cocteau Twins EP Sunburst And Snowblind?

Squeezed between the full length Head Over Heels and the compilation The Pink Opaque, this was beginning of mid-period Cocteau Twins, when they had grown beyond their goth origins but hadn't yet discovered a taste for pop-friendly melody.

Here's an early TV performance of the classic "From The Flagstones":




Another enduring favorite from Sunburst and Snowblind is "Sugar Hiccup":




Finally, how's about a live Peel Session version of the haunting "Hitherto":




I find the Cocteau Twins on a snowy day are like hot chocolate spiked with Bailey's. Soul warmingly delicious.

twin cocteau twins

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Now I've never experienced this for myself, but I once overheard a friend tell a young protege if he played the Cocteau Twins when he got a girl home, that her clothes would simply fall off.

Weeks later, the young protege reported back. It worked.

There's something about the soothing waves of sound from Robin Guthrie's guitar and the otherworldly choruses of Elizabeth Fraser's layered voice that can either lull one to sleep or weaken one's defenses.

For your Friday listening pleasure, let's look back at a couple of classics that bookend the Twin's most vital period.

First, from 1984's Treasure, a rare live performance of "Lorelei":

And from 1990's Heaven Or Las Vegas, the video for the sublime "Iceblink Luck":



Please check to ensure your clothes are still on.