Milk & Kisses

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Milk & Kisses
Studio album by
Cocteau Twins
Released15 April 1996 (UK)
14 May 1996 (US)
StudioPors Poulhan, Bretagne and September Sound, London
GenreDream pop
Length42:40
LabelFontana
ProducerCocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins chronology
Otherness
(1995) 		Milk & Kisses
(1996) 		BBC Sessions
(1999)

Milk & Kisses is the eighth and final studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, issued on 15 April 1996 in the UK by Fontana Records and on 14 May 1996 in the US by Capitol Records.[1][2] It proved to be their last; a meeting two years later to record a new album ended with the breakup of the band.[3][4]

Background[edit]

Commenting on the inspiration for the title Milk & Kisses for the album, lead singer Elizabeth Fraser said "a friend was kind of comforting me on the phone and they were just being so sweet, really. They had empathy for what I was going through, and they said, ‘I wish I could get the poison out of you. I wish I could just take it out of you and replace it with milk and kisses.’ And I just thought that was really brilliant! It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I kept hearing it and feeling so good about it, it seemed right to use it".[5] On the process of the recording of the album, Robin Guthrie claimed "making this record was a very joyous experience. It only took two months to record, which for us is amazing. Simon used to come into the studio in the daytime to do his thing, then I would come in at night to do mine, and then Liz would come in when neither one of us was around. We were never in the studio at the same time. This time, we really were together much of the time".[6] Raymonde later recalled of Milk & Kisses "the brilliant thing about this album is that it all happened so fast. Robin and I would write a song and then not have to wait around forever the muse to visit Liz".[7]

The song "Rilkean Heart" was an homage to Jeff Buckley, who was a lifelong lover of the work of poet Rainer Maria Rilke.[8]

The Japanese edition of Milk & Kisses contained two bonus tracks ("Flock Of Soul" and "Primitive Heart").[9] The Hong Kong edition contained a duet version of "Serpentskirt" sung by Elizabeth Fraser with C-pop artist Faye Wong. Wong later recorded an acoustic version of "Rilkean Heart" for her 1997 album Faye Wong, on which Guthrie and Raymonde also wrote a new song, "Yu Le Chang" ("Amusement Park"), for her. In 2013, Sarah Brightman covered their song "Eperdu" on her album Dreamchaser.

Recording[edit]

The recording process for Milk and Kisses was a lot smoother and more productive than the previous recording sessions for the band's last album, Four Calendar Cafe (1993), which was recorded and released following the end of Fraser's and Guthrie's 13 year relationship. During the recording sessions for the previous album, the band tried to avoid each other, frequently spending time in the studio on separate occasions, fearing that the band would be unable to work together to complete Milk and Kisses. By 1995, the band seemed to be in a position where they were willing to work and spend time together again, and began the recording process for the album. "We worked quite closely together on this record, which we hadn’t done so much on the previous one" stated Raymonde, further claiming that "Robin and Liz had broken up and it was a complex time. But I actually think the band was in a really good place during Milk & Kisses. Some time had passed and they were both in relationships with different people. All of the rawness was gone from their relationship. Ironically, Liz left a year or so after we finished it."[10]

An alternate Chinese version of the song “Serpentskirt” on the album was recorded by Faye Wong (Wangfei), and featuring lead singer of Cocteau Twins, Elizabeth Fraser, featuring on backing vocals. Wong also recorded a version of “Rilkean Heart", also from Milk & Kisses.[11]

Release and performance[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Los Angeles Times[13]
Magic[14]
Martin C. Strong7/10[15]
Muzik[16]
Pitchfork5.0/10 (1996)[17]
7.4/10 (2018)[18]

The album was released by Fontana Records, their second release under the label following the release of their 1993 studio album Four Calendar Cafe. The album was released during a time of pressure and fragmented relations between the band and their label, with bassist Simon Raymonde claiming that the band should "never have signed the deal", claiming that the record label worked in a very different manner than that of the band, and that the Cocteau Twins were unable to replicate previous sales and success, which appeared to be a disappointment to the record label.[19]

Speaking during the 25th anniversary of the albums release in 2021, bassist Simon Raymonde stated "I don’t think the recordings [on Milk and Kisses] are anywhere near the best we did by any stretch of the imagination. I think the songwriting was good, but I always felt the record sounded muffled. The remastering has actually helped that, which is something I almost never say. I do have a lot of great memories of it, because as you know it turned out to be our last record.”

Critically, Milk & Kisses received generally positive reviews, with AllMusic claiming "Milk & Kisses finds the band in a comfortable rut; they've created, and now perfected, a style of music so distinctive that there seems to be little recent creative growth. The result is a beautiful, lush, but somewhat dated and unengaging sounding album that tends to wash over the listener without making any real impact. It is, however, everything that a Cocteau Twins album promises; hypnotic, dreamy, awash in ethereal voices, and delicate, liquid guitars".[20]

Track listing[edit]

All songs written by Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde.

  1. "Violaine" – 3:45
  2. "Serpentskirt" – 3:57
  3. "Tishbite" – 3:50
  4. "Half-Gifts" – 4:18
  5. "Calfskin Smack" – 4:58
  6. "Rilkean Heart" – 4:02
  7. "Ups" – 3:34
  8. "Eperdu" – 4:38
  9. "Treasure Hiding" – 4:55
  10. "Seekers Who Are Lovers" – 4:45

Personnel[edit]

  • Cocteau Twins – production, engineering
  • Des Ward – engineering
  • Lincoln Fong – engineering
  • Mitsuo Tate – engineering
  • Spiros Politis – photography

Chart performance[edit]

Chart performance for Milk & Kisses
Chart (1996) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[21] 64
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] 48
Canadian Albums (RPM)[23] 53
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 17
Scottish Albums (OCC)[25] 24
US Billboard 200[26] 99

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Ad Focus" (PDF). Music Week: 24. 13 April 1996 – via World Radio History.
  2. ^ "Cocteau Twins: Treasure". www.cocteautwins.com. Archived from the original on 2 March 1999. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  3. ^ McInnis, Aubrey (8 March 2007). "Stars still shining brightly for The Lotus Galaxy: Brit-poppers reunite after decade-long hiatus". Fast Forward Weekly. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  4. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Cocteau Twins Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  5. ^ "Cocteau Twins: Milk & Kisses". cocteautwins.com. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Cocteau Twins: Milk & Kisses". cocteautwins.com. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Cocteau Twins: Milk & Kisses". cocteautwins.com. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  8. ^ Brooks, Daphne (2005). Grace. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 107. ISBN 9780826416353. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  9. ^ "Cocteau Twins - Milk & Kisses (CD, Album)". Discogs. 3 April 1996. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  10. ^ "Cocteau Twins' Milk & Kisses Turns 25". 15 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Cocteau Twins: Milk & Kisses". cocteautwins.com. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  12. ^ Phares, Heather. "Milk & Kisses - Cocteau Twins". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  13. ^ Masuo, Sandy (12 May 1996). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  14. ^ Morrison, Philip (January 1996). "Cocteau Twins Chronique de l'album Milk And Kisses". Magic. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  15. ^ Martin Charles Strong (2006). "The Essential Rock Discography". The Essential Rock Discography - Volume 1. Canongate: 222. ISBN 9781841958606.
  16. ^ Bush, Calvin (April 1996). "Cocteau Twins: Milk And Kisses" (PDF). Muzik. No. 11. p. 103. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  17. ^ "Cocteau Twins: Milk and Kisses: Pitchfork Review". Archived from the original on 5 August 2004. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  18. ^ Dorris, Jesse (19 October 2018). "Cocteau Twins: Milk & Kisses". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  19. ^ "Cocteau Twins' Milk & Kisses Turns 25". 15 March 2021.
  20. ^ "Milk & Kisses - Cocteau Twins | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  21. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  22. ^ "ultratop.be - Cocteau Twins" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  23. ^ "Item 1919 - Library and Archives Canada". RPM. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  24. ^ "milk & kisses - full official Chart History - Official Charts Company". OCC). Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  25. ^ "milk & kisses - full official Chart History - Official Charts Company". OCC). Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  26. ^ "Cocteau Twins Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard). Retrieved 26 August 2020.
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