Since
La Maison de Mon Reve
's "By Your Side,"
CocoRosie
have juxtaposed old and new sounds in intriguing ways. On their first album since 2015's
Heartache City
,
Sierra
and
Bianca Casady
polarize their collages of unexpected elements into extremes. The swift shifts from heavy guitars to drum'n'bass beats to ethereal vocals to spacy electronics on "Smash My Head" mirror its theme of transformation. "Restless," a kitchen-sink blend of chunky bass, early-2000s pop and R&B, chirping frogs, and crowing roosters, boasts a melody strong enough to carry its disparate sounds.
Put the Shine On
is full of interesting musical choices; on "Did Me Wrong," the looping melody illustrates its vicious circle of "handed down blues." The album's most restrained songs are among its best. On "Slow Down Sun Down,"
sound like they're sampling a long-forgotten song that's actually their own -- one of their oldest, and finest, tricks. Similarly, "Where Did All the Soldiers Go" showcases the prettier side of their music with a melody that sounds like a generations-old folk song. On "Aloha Friday," a meditation on "flowerless gardens of graves built too shallow" sprinkled with typewriters and music boxes,
achieves the evocative poignancy of which
have long been capable. ~ Heather Phares