DEAD CAN DANCE

Dead Can Dance's debut album is an experimentally minded goth rock album with a heavy dose of the dream pop approach of Cocteau Twins - particularly in those tracks where Lisa Gerrard takes the lead vocal. Like the Twins, who were stablemates of the band's at 4AD, the focus is on shimmering, layered guitar and on mysterious, esoteric vocals, creating an otherworldly and mysterious atmosphere which permeates the album. Though the medieval music influences which would come to distinguish them from the Twins was not yet a major factor in their music, Brendan Perry's lyrics allude to the occult ideas which would lead that development, and the album itself is a great companion piece to high-quality Cocteau Twins releases from the time.