Cocteau Twins

The legendary Cocteau Twins' impact on indie rock cannot be overestimated, although the now-defunct Scottish trio were prone to some artistic pretentiousness and wilful insularity back in the day. The Cocteaus were arguably responsible for engendering that rather gauzy but utterly compelling sub-genre of rock known as dream-pop, marked by blissed-out synth atmospherics, heavily flanged guitar patterns, and most of all, frontwoman Elizabeth Fraser's vaporous, angelic vocals, which can sound rapturous and blissful one minute, and absolutely bloodcurdling and spine-chilling the next. It's no overstatement to say that the Cocteaus' basic artistic methodology practically defines the phrase “aural ecstasy”, and how. To get an idea of the Cocteaus' out-of-this-world sonics, check out 1994's stellar, idyllic 'Evangeline', which received a rather arty video-clip treatment, showing the band performing in a sea of modified looking-glass effects.