🖤 IS THIS THE MOST HAUNTING VOCAL PERFORMANCE OF THE 1980s? IF NOT, WHAT IS? 🖤
In SEP 1983, the 4AD label released a mesmerizing single that would go on to become one of the most celebrated indie releases of the decade.
Fronted by Cocteau Twins vocalist Elizabeth Fraser, This Mortal Coil’s cover of Tim Buckley's Song to the Siren was achingly beautiful and melancholy, perfectly encapsulating the ethereal 4AD aesthetic. Paired with an atmospheric medley of two older Modern English songs, Sixteen Days and Gathering Dust, the 12” single established This Mortal Coil as a supergroup collective capable of reinventing both classic and contemporary works. In Fraser’s hands, the song became something suspended outside of time itself. Stripped of any late 60s trappings, her mysteriously accented voice discovers new depths of meaning in the lyric. She transforms Buckley’s sorrowful ballad into an ageless lament.
It comes as no surprise then that Song to the Siren has inspired covers by artists from diverse worlds, including Bryan Ferry, Robert Plant, Sinéad O'Connor, and Half Man Half Biscuit. With its themes of love, loss, and the cruel sea, the song offers endlessly renewable inspiration. But nothing has matched the sublime, bittersweet intensity of This Mortal Coil’s version. More than just a lovely tune, it remains one of the great recordings of the 80s underground.
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發表於 2025-9-7 21:47:09
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