CocoRosie: Bianca Casady, Sierra Casady. Additional personnel: Devendra Banhart, Diane Cluck, Spleen, Gregory Rogove, Jana Hunter, Antony, Ardzen.
Recording information: 2005.
The sisters Casady set the weirdness bar awfully high on their homemade debut, LA MAISON DE MON REVE, but this inspired follow-up finds the bar ascended as the angels take it on the road, recording everywhere from barnyards to actual music studios. As usual, classically trained vocalist Sierra delivers the delirious operatic vocalizing and plays piano, dulcimer, and autoharp while Bianca coos like a 12-year old vampire Billie Holiday and makes percussive noise from computers and shakers with equal abandon. The difference here is in the confidence, the polish, and the guest stars: Antony (of Antony & the Johnsons) singing and playing piano on the movingly transgressive "Beautiful Boyz," Devendra Banhart sampled from what sounds like an old scratchy 78 (actually a phoned-in vocal) on "Brazilian Sun," and French rapper Spleen laying it down on the intro of "Bisounours." There are also horses and cats ("Bear Hides & Buffalo"), and off-kilter tambourine and ambient, cricket-soaked fog on the old-timey "Armageddon." No sophomore slump this, if anything it's even weirder for all the added talent, flourishes, and polish.
Disc 1: K-Hole Beautiful Boyz South 2nd Bear Hides and Buffalo Tekno Love Song Sea Is Calm, The Noah's Ark Milk Armageddon Brazilian Sun Bisounours Honey or Tar