Elizabeth Davidson Fraser is a Scottish singer/songwriter known for her work with the band Cocteau Twins throughout the 1980s-90s. The band's work has often been considered a starting point for shoegazer/dream pop as well as having roots in gothic rock. Liz is also known for her often indecipherable vocalizations, often worded in foreign languages she does not speak.
Liz's vocals are often dreamy and airy with an operatic touch. Her more chesty singing is sporadic but often strong, with a wide use of vibrato. Her head register is effortless and where most of her singing is done and her lower register is surprisingly very easy as well, going strong to the mid-third octave. In the early work of Cocteau Twins, she often chose to limit her vocal range until the release of "Treasure", the band's third album. By the late 1980s, Liz's vocals were often placed in the mid to upper fifth octave with ease and this continued throughout the 1990s. Her vocal work since the Cocteau Twins has remained soft and ethereal, but she chooses not use her head register to heights as extensive as previous work, possibly for voice preservation.
Lower Notes:
1. 0:00 We'll start with the lows! First a strong G3 from the legendary cover of "Song To The Siren".
2. 0:10 A warm G3 from "Teardrop".
3. 0:20 Strong F♯3s from "Athol-Brose".
4. 0:28 F♯3s from the heartbreaking "Mary".
5. 0:41 F3s from "Mud And Dark".
6. 1:01 Darkened F3s from "I Wear Your Ring".
7. 1:31 Going down to E3 in "Wolf In The Breast".
8. 1:37 Great E3s from the chorus of "Bluebeard".
9. 1:44 Smooth E3s from "Tishbite".
10. 2:02 E3s and an E♭3 from the verse of "Cherry-Coloured Funk".
11. 2:32 From "Beatrix" is a backing E♭3 (and an E♭5).
12. 2:39 An E♭3 from the blissful "Frou-Frou Foxes In Midsummer Fires".
13. 2:48 Soft E♭3s from "Make Tomorrow".
14. 3:04 A backing D3 from "Carolyn's Fingers".
15. 3:13 Two faint E♭3s leading to C3 (Liz's lowest known note) from the backing of "Spooning Good Signing Gum".
Higher Notes:
16. 3:24 Onto the highs! Breathy D5s from "Group Four".
17. 3:44 Soft D5s from the upbeat "Summerhead".
18. 3:54 Smooth D5s (and a G3) from "Moses".
19. 4:15 Moving up to E♭5 in the epic "Blue Bell Knoll".
20. 4:24 A light E5 and a D5 from the otherworldly "Pandora".
21. 4:34 From "Eggs And Their Shells" are ethereal E5s.
22. 4:52 A dreamy F5 from "My Truth".
23. 5:02 Working up to mystifying F5s in "Amelia".
24. 5:10 An easy and stunning F♯5 from "Sea, Swallow Me".
25. 5:24 Euphoric F♯5s from the classic chorus of "Cherry-Coloured Funk".
26. 5:45 Airy D5s and operatic F♯5s from the eerie "Flock Of Soul".
27. 6:08 Lovely G5s from "Circling Girl".
28. 6:16 Mournful G5s from the ending of the ominous "The Thinner The Air".
29. 6:38 Beautiful G5s from "Oomingmak".
30. 7:06 Going up to G♯5 (with a backing E♭3) in "Alice".
31. 7:24 Phrases sung on angelic G♯5s from "Cico Buff".
32. 7:39 Singing up to a beautifully sustained G♯5 in "Rilkean Heart".
33. 7:55 A G5 and an A5 from the smoothly rocking "Violaine".
34. 8:05 A sudden A5 from the dizzying "Ups".
35. 8:11 Fragile A5s from the absolutely heavenly "Golden-Vein".
36. 8:42 From the chorus of the rapturous "Seekers Who Are Lovers" are E♭5s leading up F5s and then B♭5s.
37. 9:12 Effortless singing up to B5 from "Carolyn's Fingers".
38. 9:23 B5s from the quirky Fruitopia Commercial back in 1994.
39. 9:43 From "Bluebeard (Acoustic Version)" is a super-long B5!
40. 9:52 A B5 and C6s from "Ella Megalast Burls Forever"!
41. 10:21 A jaw-dropping C6 from "Suckling The Mender".
42. 10:29 A C6 and a C♯6 (as well as a G5 and an A5) from the mournful "Primitive Heart".
43. 10:58 A long backing D6(!) (Liz's highest known note) from "Mizake The Minan".
