Treasure (Remastered)

The courageous and atypical blend of styles contained on 1984’s Treasure captivated Cocteau Twins fans, who often deem it the band’s best work. One writer in the U.K. music press went so far as to say he heard “the voice of God” in the band’s fusion of postpunk, electronic music, and new age. There was no question that the Cocteaus were backing away from the abrasiveness of their early albums and moving toward the twinkling, ethereal romance exemplified by “Pandora (For Cindy),” which became one of their signature songs. But by using a blend of ancient, Eastern, and occasionally invented languages, singer Elizabeth Fraser established a musical vocabulary that reached beyond pop-music conventions. Because the band was so sincere and audacious in the way it chose to subvert mainstream tastes, they could create wondrous images in sound that would've otherwise rung hollow. These songs dispense entirely with pop pleasure, reaching instead for the terror and splendor of a snowstorm or monsoon.