The Cocteau Twins, halved

Yeah, I know, that title could be snappier (and also truer -- the Cocteau Twins were actually a three-person act for most of their tenure). Whatever. I woke up at 3am to get back from Lollapalooza, and my brain is like cold molasses, so shut up already.

Anyway, I came back to New York to find a copy of Carousel, a new album by ex-Twin Robin Guthrie, waiting for me in my mailbox. It's due out on September 28th, and is a nice treat for any Cocteau Twins fan; Guthrie was one of the band's two founders, and its longest-running member (he stayed with the group until its breakup in the late '90s), and his latest album sounds like a slightly more ambient, less melodic continuation of the Cocteau Twins' oeuvre. Think Heaven or Las Vegas without Liz Fraser's vocals. (Guthrie has also had his hand in M83 and School of Seven Bells, and his influence is palpable there, as well.)


Caveat emptor: the title of Guthrie's follow-up release in November is Songs to Help My Children Sleep. Guthrie's solo music comes off as an electronic lullabye; listening to it this afternoon, I had to struggle to keep my head off my desk. I'm going to split the blame between Carousel and Lollapalooza.