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NOAH’S ARK
BY MATT ASHARE
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"Bedroom folk" was the term bandied about when an eccentric spectrum of indie singer-songwriters — the rootsy Iron & Wine (né Sam Beam), the poetic Sufjan Stevens, the musically intense Devendra Banhart — first surfaced. The strange sister act CoCoRosie — Sierra and Bianca Casady — were counted among these neo-psych folkies, thanks in part to Bianca’s close relationship with Devendra. But it’s hard to imagine finding anything resembling a tidy fit for an album as alluring, disturbing, and just plain odd as Noah’s Ark, the daring duo’s sophomore CD. Working with a group of enablers who include Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons (presumably on piano and/or falsetto vox), a beatboxing french rapper named Spleen, and Banhart, CoCoRosie create magical-realist soundscapes that despite the clutter of toy piano plinks, ringing phones, chiming bells, and electronic beats remain charmingly spare. Sierra and Bianca themselves are a study in contrast: with her opera training, Sierra brings a continental sophistication to the proceedings, whereas Bianca with her little-girl voice sounds like something out of a Roald Dahl fantasy, slurring sinister fairy-tale imagery against found-sound backdrops. Indeed, all kinds of disturbing currents run beneath the playful surface of Noah’s Ark. I guess the trio of unicorns in coitus on the cover sort of gives that away. CoCoRosie + Antony and the Johnsons | Paradise Rock Club, 967 Comm Ave, Boston | Sept 28 | 617.228.6000.
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