Lullabies is an EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 by the Scottish rock group Cocteau Twins

Cocteau Twins

Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative rock band active from 1979 to 1997, known for innovative instrumentation and atmospheric, non-lyrical vocals...

, released on 4AD

4AD

4AD is a British independent record label that was started in 1979 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, funded by Beggars Banquet Records, and is still active today...

 records on 1 November 1982. The EP features three non-album tracks and was released just a few months after their debut album.

The EP featured louder and more driving sound than the debut album, which had created a huge stir and was already regarded as a bit of a milestone by its makers. The tracks were popular enough at the time for all three to be voted by listeners into John Peel

John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...

's end of year Festive 50 (see www.cocteautwins.com).

The EP was reissued in 1991 as part of The Box Set

The Box Set (Cocteau Twins)

The Box Set is a 1991 collection of EPs by the Scottish band Cocteau Twins. It collects their non-album releases up until that time. It also contains a bonus disc including songs from throughout their history which have not been otherwise released....

, and again in 2005 as part of the Lullabies to Violaine compilation. Alternate versions of "Feathers-Oar-Blades" and "Alas Dies Laughing" are available on the Cocteau Twins' BBC Sessions release.

Track listing

1. "Feathers-Oar-Blades" - 4:31
2. "Alas Dies Laughing" - 3:39
3. "It's All But An Ark Lark" - 8:04

Personnel

• Elizabeth Fraser
  Elizabeth Fraser
  Elizabeth Davidson Fraser is a Scottish singer best known as the vocalist for the pioneer alternative rock group Cocteau Twins...
  
   - vocals
• Robin Guthrie
  Robin Guthrie
  Robin Guthrie is a musician best known as co-founder of the Cocteau Twins. During his career Guthrie has played guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums and other musical instruments, in addition to programming, sampling and sound processing...
  
   - guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Will Heggie
  Will Heggie
  Will Heggie is a Scottish musician. He co-founded the Cocteau Twins in 1980 with Robin Guthrie, and served as the bassist for them until 1983 . Immediately after departing the Cocteau Twins, he helped form Lowlife and played bass with them from 1983–1997....
  
   - bass

Produced by Ivo Watts-Russell

Ivo Watts-Russell

Ivo Watts-Russell was joint-founder with Peter Kent of the English indie record label 4AD. He has also produced several records, himself preferring to use the term "musical director" to explain his role in the creation....

. Recorded at Palladium Studios, Edinburgh and engineered by Jon Turner. Mixed at Blackwing Studios, London, and engineered by John Fryer. All tracks written by Cocteau Twins.

See also

• Lullaby
  Lullaby
  A lullaby is a soothing song, usually sung to young children before they go to sleep, with the intention of speeding that process. As a result they are often simple and repetitive. Lullabies can be found in every culture and since the ancient period....
  
  definition, description and historical overview of the musical term