CocoRosie - Noah's Ark

Thu 29th Sep, 2005 in Music Reviews

CocoRosie certainly sound like no other, but this is not necessarily the basis for a brilliant record. It is simply the case that their insistent experimentation charms but at the same time harms the coherency of this, their second album. Noah’s Ark walks the fine line between innovation and irritation. Songs are packed with so many ideas and sounds that unfortunately, at times, they seem overtly arty for art’s sake. All this is a slight let-down after the otherworldly brilliance of debut album La Maison de Mon Reve.

Obviously many others were similarly impressed by the ability of the sisters Casady to turn songs about wife-beating and hookers eating at McDonalds into things of disturbing beauty. Two such fans were Antony (of the Johnsons) and Devendra Banhart; performers not exactly averse to challenging subject matter. Both make appearances on Noah’s Ark but, however good this may appear on paper, it doesn’t replicate on record.

Antony appears on the single Beautiful Boyz singing about, you guessed it, beautiful boys. With Bianca and Sierra gently cooing tales of a boy “born illegitimately to a whore, most likely” Antony confesses his love for kings, queens and criminal queers. What could have been a touching ode to love against all odds somehow degenerates into a folk version of those horribly self-absorbed ghetto duets. Although it is an exaggeration to paint Antony as the phat pimp-daddy singing about himself, one can’t help but be disappointed. Perhaps Antony’s voice is simply too overpowering, even for the equally unique Casady sisters.

The less said about Devendra’s appearance the better. Although a wonderful talent, Banhart is not to be trusted when it comes to quality control. The warble voiced one offers a phoned-in effort on Brazilian Sun which does little but simply exist. Harsh, but when such quality artists are on display you have to expect the best. The best thing to come from Devendra’s input is that it proves, once and for all, that CocoRosie should not be lazily slapped in the freak-folk genre.

Now, that’s the worst out of the way. Despite the album’s many faults you can’t help but be intrigued as your ears are bombarded with seemingly superfluous sounds: the distant meows of kittens, the tinkering of archaic electronics and the oddly grandma-esque vocals (no, not just from Antony). Opener K-hole flows smoothly with the assistance of a French beat-boxer called Spleen, despite its nonsensical lyrics about aborted babies becoming bambies.

The title-track and Armageddon prove to be the highlights of what is over-all a solid album pierced by a few terrible lows and the expectations of an excellent debut. The former, is all lo-fi Bjork in a 19th Century rap-off, the latter a sad singalong backed by a despondent choir of haunted vocals. Their inconsistent nature shows, if nothing else, that it would be hard to find another CocoRosie for Noah’s biblical ark. And despite their ability to fly way off the radar, it would be a great shame if artists such as CocoRosie were to die out. There is enough here to suggest that extinction is a long way off so long as they don’t try to rely on guest appearances.