Head over Heels is the second studio album by Scottish rock band Cocteau Twins. The album was released on 24 October 1983 through the label 4AD. It featured the band's signature sound of "Guthrie's lush guitars under Fraser's mostly wordless vocals" and is considered an archetype of early ethereal wave music.
Background
Following their 1982 debut album Garlands, two EPs and a European tour supporting Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Cocteau Twins parted ways with bassist and founder member Will Heggie in mid-1983, leaving Robin Guthrie and Elizabeth Fraser unsure how they would continue. They returned to Scotland to write new songs as a duo and record a new album. Most of the album was written in the studio over a short period of time; Guthrie explained the process as "little of it was really planned, the songs just came together very naturally." Writing for The Quietus, journalist Julian Marszalek said that with this album, "Fraser's voice became just as much an instrument" as those played by the musicians, including Guthrie's "multi-layered and heavily reverberated guitars". He also remarked: "'In Our Angelhood' probably fits the bill best and it's a track that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Siouxsie and the Banshees' Kaleidoscope". "The Tinderbox (Of a Heart)" conveys a sense of menace and danger, while the closing track "Musette and Drums" features sweeping guitars and chimes.
Release
Head over Heels was released on 24 October 1983 by 4AD. The original United Kingdom and Canadian cassette and CD of Head over Heels, and the Brazilian CD versions, also included the Sunburst and Snowblind EP. The 2003 CD, remastered by Guthrie, did not include the EP.
In March 2018, the album was repressed on 180g vinyl using new masters created from high definition files transferred from the original analogue tapes.
Critical reception
The album was well-received by John Peel, who played the entire record on his radio show.
Head over Heels was ranked at No. 7 in Sounds magazine's End of Year List for 1983.
In 2003, the album was named one of the most eccentric British albums of all time by Mojo magazine.
In popular culture
The song "Sugar Hiccup" was played during the end titles of the fifth episode of series five titled "Doughnuts", of Scottish sitcom Two Doors Down in July 2022.
Track listing
Personnel
Cocteau Twins
- Elizabeth Fraser – vocals
- Robin Guthrie – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drum machine
Additional personnel
- Jon Turner – engineering
- 23 Envelope – sleeve art design
- Ally Gibb – saxophone on "Five Ten Fiftyfold" (is thanked in credits as "Ally")
Charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Chart performance for Head over Heels
! scope="col"| Chart (1983)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
|}