It'll End in Tears

It'll End in Tears is the debut album by the 4AD multi-artist studio project This Mortal Coil, a loose grouping of artists brought together by label boss Ivo Watts-Russell. Released on 1 October 1984, it features many of the artists on the label's roster, including Elizabeth Fraser and Simon Raymonde of the Cocteau Twins, Gordon/Cindy Sharpe of Cindytalk, Martyn Young of Colourbox and Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance. While side one is mostly covers selected by Watts-Russell, side two contains original tracks composed by Raymonde and Gerrard.

The album's cover versions include two songs from Big Star's 1978 album Third/Sister Lovers, including "Kangaroo" (sung by Sharp and released as a single in the months leading up to the album's release) and "Holocaust". Fraser provides vocals for the covers of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren" and Roy Harper's "Another Day". The former was released as TMC's debut single a year before the album and became an unexpected hit on the UK independent charts. Sharp sings on two further tracks: Rema-Rema's "Fond Affections" and the TMC original "A Single Wish", which closes the album.

This Mortal Coil recorded two further albums: Filigree & Shadow (1986) and Blood (1991). Both were highly praised and sold well, although neither achieved the same critical acclaim or cult status as It'll End in Tears.