Evangeline (song)

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Evangeline
CT-evangeline.jpg
EP by
Cocteau Twins
Released20 September 1993
Recorded1993
GenreDream pop
Length11:19
LabelFontana
ProducerCocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins chronology
Heaven or Las Vegas
(1990) 		Evangeline
(1993) 		Snow
(1993)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic3/5 stars[1]

Evangeline is a song and the 12th EP by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. It was recorded and mixed at September Sound in London, and released in September 1993 by record label Fontana. The song was a moderate hit in several countries and was very popular in Portugal. It was included on the band's seventh studio album, Four-Calendar Café.

Critical reception[]

Jason Ankeny from AllMusic stated in his review that songs like "Evangeline" "continue the trio's advance into more accessible melodic and lyrical ground without sacrificing even an ounce of their trademark ethereality."[2] Josef Woodard from Entertainment Weekly said it "have an otherworldly shimmer, a mode perfected by these early architects of dream pop."[3] David Beran from Gavin Report commented, "Headphones are a must for this sonic picnic and first single from the upcoming album. Drop into background landscapes of milky way-out keyboards and slivers of airy guitar. Oh, did I mention that the foreground vocals are patent 'Teau Twin ringlets of bliss?"[4] He added that the song "slowly plunges as Frazer's voice soars into a firmament crowded with spacey snippets of computerized sound."[5] Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News-Sentinel described "the gorgeous strains" as "typical Cocteau Twins triumphs, aural massages of magical quality." He added that "the instruments supply an air of dreamy melancholia that both chills and warms."[6]

A reviewer from Lennox Herald called it "a fine effort".[7] American magazine Musician noted its "sly pop appeal" and stated that "the candyland blur of the Cocteaus' sound has never been so alluring".[8] Martin Aston from Music Week deemed it "a slow, stately affair with all their charm and melodic ingenuity intact."[9] R.S. Murthi from New Straits Times wrote that a song like "Evangeline" "evince concerns that go beyond the ordinary. And the combination of surreal verbal imagery and atmospheric music makes for an engaging mystique."[10] Alec Foege from Spin magazine picked it as one of the album's three most successful songs. He said that it "swells with the effects-treated grandeur of Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie's accompaniment".[11] In his book The Da Capo Companion to 20th-century Popular Music, Phil Hardy described it as "dreamy".[12] Eric Weisbard and Craig Marks wrote in their Spin Alternative Record Guide, that it is "a song so adult-sounding it could have come from Prefab Sprout."[13]

Music video[]

The music video for "Evangeline" was directed by German film director Nico Beyer.[14]

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by Cocteau Twins (Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Simon Raymonde).

No.TitleLength
1."Evangeline"4:29
2."Mud and Dark"3:43
12" vinyl release
No.TitleLength
1."Evangeline"4:29
2."Mud and Dark"3:43
3."Summer-blink"3:09
September 1993 CD release
No.TitleLength
1."Evangeline"4:29
2."Mud and Dark"3:43
3."Summer-blink"3:09

Personnel[]

Cocteau Twins

Production

  • Additional engineer – Lincoln Fong
  • Original photography – Walter Wick
  • Writer, composer and producer – Cocteau Twins

Charts[]

Chart performance for "Evangeline"
Chart (1993) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[15] 89
Portugal (AFP)[16] 4
UK Singles (OCC)[17] 34

References[]

  1. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Evangeline – Cocteau Twins : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  2. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Cocteau Twins – Four-Calendar Café". AllMusic. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  3. ^ Woodard, Josef (November 19, 1993). "Four-Calendar Cafe". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  4. ^ Beran, David (September 3, 1993). "Alternative: New Releases" (PDF). Gavin Report. p. 42. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  5. ^ Beran, David (October 15, 1993). "Alternative: New Releases" (PDF). Gavin Report. p. 45. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  6. ^ Campbell, Chuck (November 10, 1993). "COCTEAU TWINS HYPNOTIZE AGAIN WITH NEW MAGIC". Knoxville News-Sentinel. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  7. ^ "COCTEAU TWINS Evangeline". Lennox Herald. October 1, 1993. page 28. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  8. ^ "Review of COCTEAU TWINS - FOUR-CALENDAR CAFÉ". Musician. 1993. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  9. ^ Aston, Martin (September 18, 1993). "Market Preview: Alternative" (PDF). Music Week. p. 17. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  10. ^ "Reviews by R.S. Murthi: COCTEAU TWINS - Four-Calendar Cafe". New Straits Times. February 23, 1994. p. 14. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  11. ^ Foege, Alec (Dec 1993). "SPINS". Spin: 120. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  12. ^ Hardy, Phil (1995). The Da Capo Companion to 20th-century Popular Music. p. 187. ISBN 9780306806407. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  13. ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (1995). The Da Capo Companion to 20th-century Popular Music. ISBN 9780679755746. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  14. ^ "Cocteau Twins: Evangeline". Mvdbase.com. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  15. ^ "Music & Media: Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  16. ^ "Top 10 Portugal" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  17. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
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