The album Alvvays consider to be “perfect”
Few records are truly deserving of a ten out of ten score. Creating and collating around ten perfect tracks is no easy feat, and albums often vary in quality throughout their runtime, let down by filler songs or tracks that throw off the flow. To escape those pitfalls is rare, but something that Alvvays believe Cocteau Twins achieved with their sixth record, Heaven or Las Vegas.
Released in 1990, Heaven or Las Vegas was a swirling and sparkling work of dream pop, pairing Elizabeth Fraser’s elusive vocals with near-spiritual soundscapes. It’s a strikingly consistent record, one which flows effortlessly into itself, never wavering. It’s no surprise, then, that Alvvays frontwoman Molly Rankin once declared it a perfect ten.
Speaking with Pitchfork, the indie frontwoman stated, “A perfect 10 album, for me, would probably be Heaven or Las Vegas”. Rankin credited its excellence to its consistency as well as its range, commenting, “I think it flows very well and it’s also just otherworldly beauty and also menacing at the same time.”
It’s certainly a record deserving of all of those descriptors. From the opening moments of ‘Cherry-coloured Funk’, even from the song title and the swirling album artwork, it’s obvious what Cocteau Twins’ objective was on Heaven or Las Vegas. It embodies ethereality from the outset, otherworldly in its ambiguity but never inaccessible.
Fraser’s words fade into the echoing guitars, all the more enchanting for how seamlessly they blend into the background. It might seem impossible to decipher what she’s saying, but that’s part of the charm, too. The record is entirely devoted to its otherworldly ambience, veering between beauty and eeriness.
Though the record is always consistent, it never becomes boring or monotonous. It remains captivating through its entire runtime, equally suitable for background listening or close study and scrutinisation. As the record culminates with the dramatic ‘Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires’, it’s hard to drag yourself out of the world of the Cocteau Twins.
Rankin isn’t alone in her opinions about Heaven or Las Vegas. Since the record was released over three decades ago, it has only increased in influence and importance. It consistently finds a place in lists of the best albums of all time and retains an influence on contemporary bands hoping to revive the shoegaze and dream pop scenes of eras past, including Alvvays.
Though Rankin’s vocals are a little more clean and the band’s instrumentation a little more indie pop-adjacent, it’s easy to see how the dreamy sounds of the Cocteau Twins have bled into Alvvays’ sound.
Revisit Heaven or Las Vegas below.
