Losing original member
Heggie might at first have seemed a troubling blow, but in fact it allowed the duo of
Fraser and
Guthrie to transcend the darkened one-note gloom of
Garlands with
Head Over Heels. The album introduces a variety of different shadings and approaches to the incipient
Cocteaus sound, pointing the band towards the exultant, elegant beauty of later releases. Opening number "When Mama Was Moth" demonstrates the new musical range nicely;
Fraser's singing is much more upfront, while
Guthrie creates a bewitching mix of dark guitar notes and sparkling keyboard tones, with percussion echoing in the background. Other songs, like the sax-accompanied "Five Ten Fiftyfold" and "The Tinderbox (Of a Heart)" reflect the more elaborate musical melancholy of the group, while still other cuts are downright sprightly. "Multifoiled" in particular is a charm, a jazzily-arranged number that lets
Fraser do a bit of scatting (a perfect avenue for her lyrical approach!), while "In the Gold Dust Rush" mixes acoustic guitar drama into
Fraser's swooping singing. Perhaps the two strongest numbers of all are: "Sugar Hiccup," mixing the mock choir effect the band would use elsewhere with both a lovely guitar line and singing; and "Musette and Drums," a massive, powerful collision of
Guthrie's guitar at its loudest and most powerful and
Fraser's singing at its most intense. ~ Ned Raggett