Robin Guthrie: Emeralds

Robin Guthrie
Emeralds
Rating: Grrrr

The Cocteau Twins are a band I grew up with and followed religiously. They are definitely in my top ten favorite bands of all time, and one that I cannot conceive of not having in my life. Once the band acrimoniously split up following the dissolution of Robin Guthrie and Liz Fraser's relationship, there was a vast sense of loss. Cocteau Twins almost got back together again for the 2005 Coachella Festival, but cancelled at the last minute, Liz Fraser citing personal reasons. Since that one faint hope, there have not been anymore hints of a reconciliation. Guthrie has been very prolific since those times, releasing several solo albums, forming new bands such as Violet Indiana, scoring films, and collaborating with others as musician and producer. I've been reluctant to really follow much of his solo output as I didn't want it to tarnish my memories of the great music he made with the Cocteau Twins.

Something told me to get his latest release Emeralds, and I was pleasantly surprised with what I heard. Granted, I think Guthrie's musical pioneering days are long over, but what is left is a lovely consistency. The album consists of 10 gorgeous instrumentals which, even sans Frazer's vocals, sounds like a Cocteau Twins' album. As usual, the production values are stellar, each instrument perfectly in place, the guitars especially crisp and clear. Each of the tracks builds slowly, and it takes a bit of time to get fully engaged with the flow of the album, however, the album's progression, especially on the near perfect back half, is amazing.

Emeralds begins with the chiming "Digging For Gold," with its lovely, shimmering guitar textures.



"Radiola" has a haunting background guitar drone that fits well alongside the effect heavy guitars. "Wishing" feels of an akin to the best tracks on Heaven Or Las Vegas, featuring melodic bass lines underscoring the lovely guitar parts.



Some of the instrumentals, especially the beatless ones, can feel a bit aimless, like the momentum killing "Torch." But once the back half of the album kicks in, Guthrie shows he is in full control of his sound. And the results are practically breathtaking. "Warmed By The Winter Sun" is the focal point of the album, and some of the most evocative music Guthrie has ever made.



After the palate cleansing track "Flower," Guthrie again takes things up another level with "Turn Together, Burn Together," which slowly builds until the drums and guitars erupt into shoegaze/dream pop heaven.



The final three tracks form a nice coda to the entire album. The spacey chill of "Emeralds," the slow climb of the gorgeous "The Blue Book:"



and the slow, ambient slide of "The Little Light Fades," which softly closes out this wonderful record.



Emeralds is a lovely return to form for Robin Guthrie, and his most consistent work in ages. It evokes the classic sound of Cocteau Twins without being directly parroting it. And after several listens, you forget to imagine Frazer's voice over the music and it stands by itself, letting the melodies do all the heavy listening.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.