Popular ‘33 1/3’ series publishes new book focused on Cocteau Twins’ Blue Bell Knoll
- By CocteauTwins.com
- Cocteau Twins News
- 01-May 2025
The latest instalment from the popular “33 1/3” book series about specific albums focuses on Cocteau Twins and their 1988 LP Blue Bell Knoll.
Author Chris Tapley has done extensive research on the band, along with new interviews with Robin Guthrie, Simon Raymonde, and sleeve designer Paul West, to produce a slim volume (119 pages) packed with detail and thoughtful perspective on the band and their career.
In an interview discussing the book, Tapley explained, “It’s a reflection on Cocteau Twins’ career through the lens of Blue Bell Knoll, focusing on their complex relationship with artistic ambiguity, creative doubts, and the music industry…
“Blue Bell Knoll isn’t the most obvious Cocteau Twins album for the 33 ⅓ treatment. But when it comes to things that people associate with the band—the dreaminess, the unknowable lyrics, the dense production—BBK ticks the boxes more than any other album. It’s arguably the most Cocteau Twins.
“And as the first album recorded in their own studio and the first with US distribution, it also felt like a pivotal moment in their career. This album being the result was too intriguing to not explore. I ended up writing about the band’s whole career really, just using this album as an anchor. It’s the part that represents the whole; impossible to talk about it in isolation.”
Readers can purchase a copy of the book from local booksellers, online, and directly from the publishers. ▣
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