Garlands is the debut album by the Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. It was released on 10July1982 by the record label 4AD. It peaked in the top 5 of the UK Independent Albums Chart, and received support from BBC Radio 1 radio host John Peel. Background Garlands is the only album the band recorded with original bassist Will Heggie. Prior to the album the band recorded a four-track session for John Peel in June 1982 including "Wax and Wane" and "Garlands". A second John Peel session in January 1983 was included as bonus tracks on the cassette and CD release of Garlands. Cindy Sharp of Cindytalk provided backing vocals on "Dear Heart", "Hearsay Please" and "Hazel". Martin C. Strong noted that the album was "hastily recorded" but also featured an "interesting fusion of monochromatic rhythms, textured guitar distortion, and early sampling technology." The album's sound was described in The Rough Guide to Rock as "a blend of ominous pulsating bass, stark TR808 drums, cyclical guitar and great screeching arcs of reverberating feedback, over which Liz alternated dry, brittle utterings with full-power vocal gymnastics". Billboard described the album as "dark post-punk". The Arts Desk noted that “though they had their own voice, the debut’s debt to Siouxsie and the Banshees was apparent". Sleeve The photograph on the front cover was conceived by Nigel Grierson when he was at college. It was part of a project on his Graphic Design course for alternative images for Siouxsie and the Banshees' debut album The Scream. The picture was later chosen by Cocteau Twins and Ivo. Release Garlands was released as a vinyl LP by 4AD on 10 July 1982 with artwork by 23 Envelope. Lyrics from "But I’m Not", "Shallow then Halo", "Garlands" and "Grail Overfloweth" were printed on the inner sleeve. The original British cassette release included four additional tracks from a John Peel radio session. The original British, Brazilian and Canadian cassette and CD releases featured the album, the Peel session, and two other tracks that were recorded for an unreleased single, which was to have been the band's first release. The four Peel Session recordings were later released as BBC Sessions in 1999. A remastered version of "Blind Dumb Deaf" was included on the 2000 compilation Stars and Topsoil, a version of "Hazel" appeared on the band's Peppermint Pig EP, released in 1983, and a remixed version of "Wax and