CocoRosie
Noah's Ark
Touch & Go, 2005
After the pending apocalypse destroys all the computers, MP3s, vinyl records, cassettes, 8-tracks, and, outside of CDs (which are commonly known to be apocalypse proof), any records or information regarding all music, including the musicians and music fans, it'll be interesting to see where on the timeline the people of the future place the music of CocoRosie. 2004's La Maison de Mon Reve felt more unearthed than released; the plucky guitar and harp rhythms and crackly, often crooked croons sounded like something off a dusty, warped blues or gospel 78. Mix that with found sound samples, drum machines, and lyrics referencing cocaine and McDonald's and one can easily see where neo-music nerds might have problems. The sisters Casady play a very deliberate blend of old and new, but on their debut what really shone through was the enormous heart behind it. As strange as some of the arrangements were, and despite (or likely due to) the intentionally dated content of the lyrics, there was a pleasantly innocent undercurrent to the album, an endearing emphasis on sweetness. But on their new effort Noah's Ark, the enormous heart is overshadowed by forced eccentricities. Noah's Ark feels like a deformed exaggeration of its predecessor - the music almost mirrors the simple chord progressions of La Maison de Mon Reve while the lyrics trade its old-fashioned sentimentality for more confrontational but less fulfilling cynicism. The album has its exceptions - "Bisounours" and the title track show the two successfully incorporating dance music (of all things) - but overall Noah's Ark is a disappointing follow-up that likely time will forget even before the day of reckoning. -- David Gulbis