Looking back on the Cocteau Twins’ “Heaven or Las Vegas” after 35 years

• By Mikayla Keniry
• The Brock Press
• 17-Apr 2025

With 35 years passing since its release, the Cocteau Twins’ Heaven or Las Vegas remains an undoubtably iconic piece in the band’s discography and alternative pop music at large.

On September 17, 1990, the Cocteau Twins released their sixth studio album, Heaven or Las Vegas. Since its release, the album has continued to represent the pinnacle of the band’s sound, with Las Vegas tracks almost entirely encompassing the band’s most streamed songs. According to the Cocteau Twins’ website, as of July 2024, tracks from Heaven or Las Vegas made up six out of the band’s 10 most listened-to songs despite the eight other studio albums in their corpus.

Heaven or Las Vegas builds deep, sonic landscapes that are almost entirely reliant on instrumentals rather than building stories through lyrics, which tend to be purposefully incomprehensible in the mix.

Read the full article online from its source.