Tuesday, July 14, 2009

REVIEW: CocoRosie - Coconuts, Plenty Of Junk food

8.25 out of 10
Find it here. (sorry, tour only ep)

Ok, I know, CocoRosie is definitely an acquired taste, it takes a certain personality to really get into their unique style. I love them, everything they've done has been pitch perfect for my ears. Their music is uplifting, silly, weird, artsy, and just everything I look for in an underground (somewhat) experimental band. I don't know if I could pick a favorite album of theirs, but I do know that "Coconuts, Plenty Of Junk Food" is by far one of their most solid releases. Each track stands out on it's own while still working as a cohesive delicious package. The saddest part of this ep is that is only for sale at their live shows, hopefully all of the songs will end up on the next full length or somewhere else more accessible. Either way if you know someone going to see CocoRosie live tell them to pick you up a copy, it's worth it.

When it comes to describing CocoRosie's music it can be difficult to pinpoint one particular genre. They bounce all over the place from Freak Folk to "Casio-Pop"/Electro-Pop to Jazz to just "indescribable". On "Coconuts, Plenty Of Junk Food" CocoRosie perfect their genre bouncing style even more. They push the instrumentation forward a notch, the production has even moved toward a more "crisp" style, and the amount of despair that normally comes with CocoRosie is glowing just a little more. There's a lot more piano on this release, one of the tracks (Milkman) even has a "night club/Jazzy" feel, terrifically simple drumbeats most likely created on an 80's Casio keyboard, and a few other cutesy surprises.

Once again, I know CocoRosie is not for all, but if you feel you should give them at least "one more chance" try to get your hands on a copy of "Coconuts, Plenty Of Junkfood" as it definitely has at least one track for nearly everyone within its complex, yet simple walls of noise and gaiety. To all of you CocoRosie fans consider this release essential. RECOMMENDED.

Standout Tracks: Coconuts, Milkman (currently one of my fav CocoRosie songs of all time), Spirit Lake

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