Much has been said about Fleetwood Mac’s daring move to collaborate on a break up album with their exes. And while  Rumours might be a bit more ferocious than anything Cocteau Twins would ever do, Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie’s relationship lasted fourteen years—almost twice as long as the McVie’s marriage. Four-Calendar Cafe, the resulting album, is far more introspective than it is prickly.

And not that it needs to be said, but it’s absolutely gorgeous.

I’ve been listening to Cocteau Twins for almost fifteen years—in fact, it was my burgeoning love for them (brought on by a Tumblr called thiscitycalledmusic, if you’re reading this I miss you) that inspired me to start this very blog. But for whatever reason, I’ve considered Heaven or Las Vegas to be their last great album, and so I’ve spent very little time with their last two records.

This was a mistake.

Four-Calendar Cafe is more minimalist and straightforward than the rest of their discography, but it’s not any less mystical. Guthrie’s glistening atmospheres have fewer layers. Fraser’s lyrics are all in English, and mostly intelligible. This isn’t by mistake: in addition to their breakup, Guthrie went to rehab for his drug use and Fraser started therapy. The effects of these processes are all over the tape.

This directness is unusual for the Twins, but it doesn’t do anything to break the spell they’ve put us all under.  “Evangeline” is one of the most transcendent tracks they ever put out. “Bluebeard” is disarmingly tender and introspective, with Fraser asking, “are you the right man for me? Are you toxic for me?” into a cloud of shimmering guitars and keyboards created by the subject of her inquiry.

Sadly, Four-Calendar Cafe wasn’t fully appreciated in its time. Heaven or Las Vegas got them a major label deal, but Cafe was a little less exciting. It was a modest success, but it couldn’t recapture the success of its predecessor among either critics or the charts. But it seems to be enjoying a reevaluation, thanks no doubt in part to it finally receiving a vinyl repress. It might even become my most spinned record in their catalog at this rate.