CocoRosie - Tales Of A Grasswidow

Is there such a thing as a macabre lullaby? This seems to be the underlining teaser behind CocoRosie’s fifth full-length, a fractal journey though magic realism-as-pop. Decamping to Iceland to work with producer/composer Valgeir Sigurðsson, ‘Tales Of A Grasswidow’ is the duo’s most undeniably produced album, perhaps too-produced. Utilising a percussive heavy foundation (albeit one that sounds as if it were recorded underwater), the interweaving vocals shimmer and soar but also sound on the verge of suffocation; the music is sure tight, but uncomfortably so.

The flutes which enfold ‘Child Bride’ and glacial beats on ‘RIP Humans’ – perhaps deliberately – sound threatening; nevertheless, the band’s most out-and-out pop moments (‘Afterlife’) grind with a confidence and force perhaps lacking elsewhere. The album aims for vintage Kate Bush or Diamanda Galas but often comes across closer to vintage Enya. CocoRosie certainly revel in their unorthodoxy but this doesn’t always make for enjoyable listening; perhaps if their ‘Tales Of A Grasswidow’ knew how to breathe, their macabre hymns might pack a little more pluck.