Some thoughts on the welcome return of Elizabeth Fraser

• By Michael Bonner
• Uncut
• 21-Jan 2016

New TV soundtrack is her most substantial work for 20 years

After the chaos of the last few weeks, it’s gratifying to finally come across some good news. While not entirely unexpected, the return of Elizabeth Fraser is certainly welcome in a year that has so far amassed more than its fair share of dismal tidings. As far back as 2012, Fraser confirmed that she had assembled an album’s worth of new material; but intriguingly her return to active service has taken a more unexpected form. In collaboration with her husband, Damon Reece, she had written the score for a new four-episode miniseries, The Nightmare Worlds Of H.G. Wells, which begins on Sky Arts on January 28. The score is Fraser’s most substantial work since the Cocteau Twins’ Milk & Kisses in 1996.

Fraser has spoken about her apparent reluctance to engage with music. In a rare interview with The Guardian in 2009, she spoke of her difficulties recalibrating after the break-up of the Cocteau Twins and her relationship with Robin Guthrie—“I’m swamped in feelings I can’t deny.” But reports of Fraser’s withdrawal from music have been greatly exaggerated. At this point, I’m reminded of the depiction of David Bowie as a JD Salinger-style recluse in the years between Reality and The Next Day—which seemed to ignore his busy workload of film and TV appearances, commercials or even a prolific and hands-on role curating a New York music and arts festival. Equally, Fraser has herself hardly been idle in the years since the Cocteau Twins’ split; but she has certainly chosen her projects meticulously.

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