After years of more elaborate projects,
CocoRosie
's
Sierra
and
Bianca Casady
return to their roots on
Heartache City
. Avoiding the electronics that dominated their later albums, the duo opted for the acoustic and toy instruments that made
La Maison de Mon Reve
a one-of-a-kind debut. Songs such as "Forget Me Not" build on that album's deceptively simple charms, using little more than a xylophone and a drum machine to cast a spell. Other tracks, such as the festive and romantic "Un Beso," reflect the time the
Casady
sisters spent recording the album in Buenos Aires. While songs like this and "Tim & Tina" reflect
's lighthearted side,
also spends plenty of time with the dark, unsettling parts of their music. Missing children, runaways, racism, and murder are just some of the subjects
the Casadys
touch on in "The Tower of Pisa," "Lost Girls," and "Big & Black." As always, the beauty of the duo's music makes these moments all the more haunting. ~ Heather Phares