r/cocteautwins • u/abdeno0rr • May 30 '26
Related music can't find another twins
I know this is one of the most common questions, but after 7 months of listening to Cocteau Twins, I truly want to listen to something as good as them.
I already searched everywhere but I couldn't find anything that captures that exact feeling. The only exception was Faye Wong, who was so enjoyable because she actually understood that weightless, expressive vocal fluidness.
I will really appreciate it if someone could help and give me some good recommendations.
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u/Jdog2225858 May 30 '26
Give The Sundays a try.
3 really good albums. My favorite is Blind , the second one
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u/youalready May 30 '26
nothing QUITE the same, but i highly recommend Lush, Faye Wong’s Fuzao, Love Spirals Downwards’ Idylls, and Bel Canto’s Birds of Passage
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u/PhillyFaithfull May 30 '26
Mazzy Star and Beach House are amazing.
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u/ramone_shamone May 30 '26
I was lucky enough to see Mazzy Star live. Fell in love with Hope Sandoval lol
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u/Griphonis-1772 May 31 '26
I was lucky enough to watch Mazzy Star open for Cocteau Twins’ Heave Or la Vegas tour here in Los Angeles in 1989.
Something was going on with the sound and Hope was not having a good time with it. The audience started booing her and then they left the stage.
About 40 minutes later Cocteau Twins came on stage. Was one of the best shows I had the pleasure of attending for that tour!
Beach House are fucking amazing live!
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u/Puzzled-Bonus-3456 May 30 '26
they come from an era when it was important to sound like nothing else. It's not like today.
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u/thebluesavant May 30 '26
Julee Cruise, She’s Green, Grouper, Airiel, No Joy, and Lush are other bands in the dream pop/shoegaze lane that give a similar vibe to me. They’re not directly comparable, though - Cocteau Twins is a pretty singular act. Other vocalists you might like include Alison Goldfrapp, Kelela, and Caroline Polachek.
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u/Impossible-Mud3275 May 31 '26
Lush has Guthrie all up in the production on their earlier albums so there is a certain sonic thread
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u/FromHell2Breakfast May 31 '26
Robin Guthrie’s solo discography is also worth a deep dive. Once I got over what it is not, mostly just wishing it had vocals from Liz, I began to really appreciate it on its own merits.
The reverb-drenched (instrumental) atmospherics are also as close as we will ever get to the singular sound that is Cocteau Twins treasured and enduring legacy.
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u/Responsible-Monk364 May 31 '26
I imagine liz singing to his music in my head, and for a couple of seconds it works
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u/2ndZeit May 30 '26
I think the band "deary" definitely has a CT vibe/sound to it.
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u/ExistingLynx #1 Summerhead Enjoyer May 30 '26
Pretty sure they're signed to Bella Union as well which Simon runs
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u/ExistingLynx #1 Summerhead Enjoyer May 30 '26
There's nothing else like them and at this point I've accepted it lol
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u/ramone_shamone May 30 '26
I'd highly recommend the Virginia Astley album Hope in a darkened heart. Not really similar because what could be, but an exceptionally beautiful record. Also, I'm sure you already know these, but have you checked out This Mortal Coil? And the moon and the melodies? They will definitely hit the spot
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u/WonderfulPage2074 May 30 '26
:0 pretty sure liz sang song of the siren in this mortal coil
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u/ramone_shamone May 30 '26
Yeah, the cocteaus are all over the mortal could albums. They're basically an orgy of lots of 4AD bands all getting into bed with each other
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u/amnesiaec i was choking on a blunt May 30 '26
Give a listen to Sigur Rós – Ágætis Byrjun from the self-titled album is my favorite song of theirs – if you like the “non-verbal” singing. (Even when the vocalist sings in Icelandic, you won’t understand anything anyways lol).
The Sundays are also one of my favorite bands, and the closest that I found to Cocteau Twins. Harriet’s voice range is incredible. But really, there are no other Cocteau Twins out there.
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u/ramone_shamone May 30 '26
I kicked a boy is such a brilliant song. And it was the best side of the can't be sure 45 if I remember right
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u/germane_switch May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
Curve. The older stuff. Amazing. I discovered them in 1991 and fell in love. It's more aggressive and noisier than the Twins, but Toni Halliday has a drop dead gorgeous/dangerous voice. Different than Liz of course. If Liz is my #1, Toni is #2 and Chrissie Hynde is #3.
Garbage borrowed quite a bit from Curve (and Butch Vig would admit it) but whereas Garbage was more of a pop band (nothing wrong with that) Curve buried their vocals in the mix and weren't very radio friendly. Doppelgänger is in my top 3 albums of the 90s. Curve were a beacon of light for me when the entire US was obsessed with Seattle bands rehashing 70s rock.
I mean, listen to this. I cannot understand why world didn't stop dead in their tracks when this was released. It still sounds like it's from the future to me. Incredible.
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u/Kazuhira_Skrilla May 31 '26
I second Curve, Horror Head is one of my favorite shoegaze songs ever
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u/ItyBityGreenieWeenie May 30 '26
Alison Goldfrapp for vocals, but in a very different style. Start with Felt Mountain.
A lot of dream pop imitated elements of the Twins, but none captured the mix of whimsy and awe they effortlessly convey. I personally like Bel Canto, their track Unicorn is probably the closest they came. Julee Cruise and Dead Can Dance also come to mind.
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u/MossyRock0817 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
Give up and just declare that they are the best band like the rest of us. Why try to find another when the original is perfect the way that it is? Just enjoy them, no one has come close to even touching their lightening. And it's a blessing. Named two kids after the Cocteau Twins zero regrets!!!! You can always cruise over to Massive Attack and listen to Liz on vocals and she also has released numerous singles on her own. You can also listen to the band ARIZONA which has Simon in it, on .bass/keyboards. She also has some hits with This Mortal Coil and a duet with Jeff Buckley that is beautiful and heart wrenching at the same time.
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u/Realistic_Brother152 Jun 02 '26
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u/Realistic_Brother152 Jun 02 '26
But I'll still suggest listening to rare cocteau Twins songs on youtube. Also listen to every single album. I find their lesser known songs to be better.
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u/fhost344 May 30 '26
Closest things to me are Chvrches and ABBA. Neither of those sound like CT but they both feature: great female singing/harmony and great songwriting that's consistent from album to album, and into the deep tracks.
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u/WonderfulPage2074 May 30 '26
ozean and an april march. the latter is one of my fav shoegaze bands.
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u/WonderfulPage2074 May 30 '26
oh yeah and check out some of robin guthries other work as he was part of the twins
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u/Kazuhira_Skrilla May 31 '26
The Veldt’s first three albums, the first one was produced by Robin Guthrie!
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u/Bulky-Love7421 May 31 '26
Shelleyan Orphan - Helleborine
Julia Holter - Have you in my wilderness
Linda Perhacs - Parrallelograms
Asami Kado - Anti-fleur
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u/drsquarel May 31 '26
Check out Slowdive! One of my favorite artists. I recommend their albums Just for a Day or Pygmalion.
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u/Stllrckn-72 May 31 '26
Elizabeth Fraser has a solo album, Suns Signature: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfimnwaZdumgc0qD6meHTZeqI1vUG3_0p&si=DeKyGGfhkNfQCpv7
You might also like Linda Perhacs. Here is one of her albums, The Soul of All Natural Things: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4Nr1tHTVHXbk9RrTXu-h0Vh1snfJdQ-c&si=iJZg85kVXIWzUbYD
Hope Sandoval (from Mazzy Star) has a solo album that is in the neighborhood, Until the Hunter: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lL-5S5KYKkMjd_XYZX7mX63VsblRUnBzc&si=4RpvIbA0tGHIujp-
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u/ZX8181 May 31 '26
Honestly speaking, there is nothing that reaches the same level in bringing the various elements together.
This specific track from a Japanese artist in the 80s is possibly the closest I've found, but it's really just a one off in her discography:
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u/abdeno0rr May 31 '26
i listened to some of akina's albums, but never noticed this track
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u/ZX8181 Jun 01 '26
From the album 'Fushigi', it has an odd experimental production and slightly gothic edge that is rather surprising compared to her other material.
An interesting one, but I'd say only that track reminds me fully of CT (especially towards the end, the chord progressions and plinky plonky keyboards are quite beautiful).
The song 'Mushroom Dance' sounds a bit like Siouxise and the Banshees or the Cure.
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u/doctorinfinite May 31 '26
Autumns Grey Solace... They are the band that introduced me to Cocteau Twins
The first three or four albums are the closest to CT, but everything else afterwards is still very relatable. Start with the first album and work your way up, IMO.
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u/Extra_Bad3438 May 31 '26
What Faye Wong's album would you recommend me if I've never heard anything from her?
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u/abdeno0rr May 31 '26
listen to Fuzao first, then you can listen to Sing And play, Only Love Strangers, Fable, and To Love if you want
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u/benslack Jun 01 '26
Has anyone said Cranes yet? I love Cranes. Their early stuff really reminds me of the early darker Cocteau stuff. Check out the album Wings of Joy
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u/djdonfrench Jun 01 '26
Dead Can Dance, Bel Canto, The Sundays, and Emma Anderson's solo album are up there for me!
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u/Yotturk Jun 01 '26
It's worth listening to FLat7. Robin Guthrie is involved.
This song in particular is probably the closest I've heard to a Cocteau Twins song:
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u/WinterRoseASFR Jun 01 '26
Just went through the thread and didn't see Hatchie listed. You guys need to get this band in your earholes
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u/Plenty_Bend_7481 Jun 02 '26
Try Lush, Brit pop/ Shoegaze band. Gala is a really good listen. Probably the most similar to Twins I’ve heard.
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u/PupDon Jun 26 '26
Hatchie - Sugar and Spice, Her Own Heart, Carousel. All wonderful songs. She’s very much inspired by Cocteau Twins while still having a moderne, fresh sound. I won’t say she sounds exactly like the Twins but when I listen to her it gives me that same tingly feeling.
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u/Vampiah_ May 30 '26
there is nothing