CocoRosie | Heartache City

Couple of crazy sisters.

I love this story. I have no idea if it's true or not because these days everything I think I know has come from the internet, so anymore who knows what's real and what's not.

Some sources would say that the girls mother was a gypsy, some say Syrian and some say Cherokee Indian and that the father was either a wayward preacherman or a mad farmer, infatuated with voodoo. Whatever the truth, these star-crossed lovers separated and went off to different parts of the world, one with each of the girls. The eldest, Bianca (also known as Rosie) found her way to Paris where she studied opera and became a classical singer, while the youngest, Sierra (also known as Coco) ended up in Brooklyn doing the whole urban hipster rap-chick thing.

They were finally reunited by their mother and in 2003 CocoRosie was born.

Their music has been dubbed inverted pop and freak folk. It sounds at the same time like a kind of twisted lullaby and a cosmic opera from some dark realm. There is a purity and child-like innocence to it and yet it smacks of the darker recesses of the human soul.

Heartache City is their sixth studio album to date. It is a bizarre carnival full of hidden wonders and beautiful moments. I didn't think they'd be able to pull it off, maintaining that same sound but staying fresh. The past few albums had started to feel a little pale to me, but this album is brilliant. It's one of, if not my favorite of theirs.

They promote a kind of craziness but the whole thing is just too slick for real madness. These girls know exactly what they are doing. The harmonies are shrill but I can't stop listening to them over and over; they are infectious. A lot of the backing instrumentation (as with most of their earlier albums) is made up of sound effects from children's toys. But the overall effect is a full and complete piece of work that will find it's way into your soul.

If you are a long-time fan, I promise you won't be disappointed.

If you've never heard them before, you might want to brace yourself, tease your mind open before you press play.

Top marks.