I sorta slept on this one for a long time for various reasons - not being released by 4AD chief among them, but also the admittedly reprehensible I Spy-esque artwork (can’t top 23 Envelope so why even try), plus the fact I’d never heard anyone ever say anything about it, good or bad. While it might actually be better (I certainly enjoy it more), it’s hard to drown out the cultish fervor surrounding Heaven Or Las Vegas. Their major label debut Four Calendar Café is some of the most straightforward pop music they ever made - Robin Guthrie’s pulled back slightly on his gratuitous reverb, and you can almost sing along to Liz’s vocals. Unlike the deliberately confounding song titles and pointlessly meandering songwriting of their mid-career records (which I love!), tracks like “Bluebeard” and “Know Who You Are At Every Age” are intuitive and down to earth. The entire side B is, in my opinion, the finest 20 minutes of music the Cocteaus ever cut to tape; starting with the utterly sublime “My Truth” through the new age excellence “Essence,” jangle pop earworm “Summerhead” and the crystalline wall of sound bliss of “Pur” - I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about listening to it! If you’re nodding your head yes, you too have probably been stalking D*sc*gs literally for years trying to get a copy and can finally get some sleep thanks to this official 2024 repress, now on 4AD along with the rest of their catalog. Highly recommended.

• 1993 major label debut, official 30th anniversary 4AD reissue approved by the band
• black vinyl pressing
• newly remastered by Robin Guthrie
• full color printed insert
• original release year: 1993
• music label: 4AD 2024

reviewed by Peppermint Pig 07/2019

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