This is the first track from Cocteau Twins' second album, Head Over Heels. What are your favourite moments of the song or how would you rate it from 1-10?

The song in question

Suggested scale:

1-4: Not good / terrible

5-6: It's okay or decent but not something i would want to listen

7: Pretty good

8-9: Great, i really enjoyed it

10: Magnum Opus, the band's definative song.

Rating Results:

  1. When Mama Was Moth: 8.6/10

  • 9, what a cracking opener, really sets the scene for the album. I always used to start with this track when making Cocteau compilations for people.

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    1. Those boom-booms open to the desolation, like a slowed down heartbeat. Then the creepy low strings playing, and then the higher mysterious tune. Only then does Liz come in like a figure in an ancient myth.

    Another commenter mentioned that it’s a great opener for the tone of the album. I agree.

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    I feel like a proud parent listening to this song because it's such an incredible upgrade in skill and quality. I love Liz's vocals near the end — "My blue electric/Mother electric"

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    1. sets the album tone perfectly.
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    1. Booms in as an ominous opener, portents of things to come.
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    1. My favorite CT album opener.
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  • Can we make a score on the suggested scale for “not great; not terrible” and make the score 3.6 roentgen?

    “When Mama Was Moth” is an astounding opener, and continues the tradition of all Twins albums having a magnificent opening track that really sets the stage for the album’s texture. It’s probably one of their most atmospheric gothic song, and I love how aggressive the guitars and and how huge the reverb is on the drum machine.

    I also love how the entirety of the lyric is one short stanza and then a repeated refrain. It’s a single idea, this song, shoved at you like a broadsword, and I think “Five Ten Fiftyfold” just follows it so perfectly.

    My score: 9.

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  • Yeah, it's an 8-9 I feel. Don't overlook the reverb drenched saxophone toiling in the depths.

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  • 9! Such an incredible song. I remember beint completely taken aback when I first heard it. I think this song had the most reverb I'd ever heard at that point 😂.

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