''Victorialand'' is the fourth studio album by Scottish

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrum ...

, released by 4AD in 1986. Working without bassist

Simon Raymonde Simon Philip Raymonde (born Simon Philip Pomerance; 3 April 1962, in London) is an English musician and record producer. He is the son of the late arranger and composer Ivor Raymonde. He is best known as the bass guitarist and keyboard player ...

, vocalist

Elizabeth Fraser Elizabeth Davidson Fraser (born 29 August 1963), is a Scottish singer, songwriter and musician. Hailing from Grangemouth, Scotland, she is best known as the vocalist for the pioneering dream pop band Cocteau Twins who achieved international ...

and guitarist/producer Robin Guthrie opted for a subtler sound on the album.

Background

''Victorialand'' was recorded without bassist

, who had been enlisted to collaborate on the second This Mortal Coil album '' Filigree & Shadow'' (1986). The duo of Guthrie and Fraser opted for a subtler sound which dispensed with most percussion and bass, instead consisting primarily of Guthrie's "delicate guitar filigrees and lush, produced textures." As is often the case with Fraser's vocals, the lyrics are indecipherable. For example, Fraser took a passage from a non-English language book to write the lyrics for “Whales Tails”, not knowing what the words meant. The album title refers to the part of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

known as

Victoria Land Victoria Land is a region in eastern Antarctica which fronts the western side of the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf, extending southward from about 70°30'S to 78°00'S, and westward from the Ross Sea to the edge of the Antarctic Plateau. It ...

, after

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(and forming the British claim to the continent, currently dormant under international treaty). Some of the track titles were borrowed from passages on the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

and Antarctic in

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...

's ''The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth'', the accompanying book to his 1984

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nature documentary series '' The Living Planet'', for example "Throughout the dark months of April and May, the birds display to one another and finally mate" on page 54.

Release

On its initial release in the UK, the vinyl edition was a 12" disc which played at 45 rpm, which would be normal for an EP rather than a full album, which would normally play at 33⅓ rpm. This was due to difficulties in the mastering process in reproducing the minimal soundscapes. Some test pressings at 33⅓ rpm are known to exist. An uncredited instrumental version of "Oomingmak" was used as a backing track for the credits at the end of the 4AD compilation video for ''

Lonely Is an Eyesore ''Lonely Is an Eyesore'' is a compilation album, compilation on the 4AD label. Released in June 1987, it features artists who were signed to the label at that time. All tracks were recorded during the period immediately preceding the release (198 ...

''. This instrumental version was later made available on the band's 1991 4AD singles

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

Reception

One critic described the album as ethereal and resembling "early Gong space-rock with much of the stuffing left out". The ''

Spin Alternative Record Guide The ''Spin Alternative Record Guide'' is a music reference book compiled by the American music magazine '' Spin'' and published in 1995 by Vintage Books. It was edited by rock critic Eric Weisbard and Craig Marks, who was the magazine's editor-i ...

'' called the album the Twins' "simplest" and "most beautiful".

Track listing

All songs written by

and Robin Guthrie. #"Lazy Calm" – 6:36 #"Fluffy Tufts" – 3:07 #"Throughout the Dark Months of April and May" – 3:05 #"Whales Tails" – 3:18 #"Oomingmak" – 2:43 #"Little Spacey" – 3:28 #"Feet-Like Fins" – 3:27 #"How to Bring a Blush to the Snow" – 3:52 #"The Thinner the Air" – 3:16

Personnel

– vocals * Robin Guthrie – guitar, bass, drum machine, keyboards Additional personnel * Richard Thomas of

Dif Juz Dif Juz were an English instrumental post-punk band, formed in London in 1980 and remaining active until 1986. The band comprised Dave Curtis (guitar), Alan Curtis (guitar), Gary Bromley (bass guitar) and Richard Thomas (percussion and saxopho ...

– saxophone and

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Charts

References

{{Authority control Cocteau Twins albums 1986 albums 4AD albums