Since La Maison de Mon Rêve's "By Your Side," CocoRosie have juxtaposed old and new sounds and attitudes towards relationships in intriguing ways. They continue to mine this territory on Put the Shine On, but this time, Sierra and Bianca Casady's tales of girls and women dealing with men -- especially fathers -- who are absent and abusive are more bemusing than thought-provoking. This is due in large part to the album's sound, which polarizes CocoRosie's collages of unexpected elements into extremes. It's an approach that works on a handful of songs: 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. While 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" -- too often, they don't support each other. The hip-hop elements in CocoRosie's music tend to work better as a spice, but here, they're a main ingredient. On "Mercy" and "Hell's Gate," Sierra Casady's MC-ing is more grating than confrontational. Though CocoRosie's ample use of motifs and archetypes both ancient and modern should help tie together Put the Shine On's songs, the duo throw so much at their listeners that it's hard to know what the specifics of their messages are; on "Lamb and the Wolf," the Casadys' musings on gaslighting and mental illness are diluted by confusing references to nursery rhymes and Britney Spears. The album's more restrained songs are among its best. On "Slow Down Sun Down," CocoRosie 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. It isn't until the album closes with "Aloha Friday," a meditation on "flowerless gardens of graves built too shallow" sprinkled with typewriters and music boxes, that the Casady sisters achieve the evocative poignancy of which they're capable. Ultimately, Put the Shine On is a very CocoRosie album -- while it's not totally satisfying, it's another example of how they always challenge themselves and their audience.