The second release from Olympia, WA-based duo C.O.C.O. is heavy on the funk and light on its feet -- a seductive cross between the slinkiness of
Luscious Jackson and the spikiness of
Le Tigre, with a little
De La Soul playfulness on the side (at least on singsongy leadoff track, "Intro").
Chris Sutton, who doubles as the bassist in
Dub Narcotic Sound System, provides the spare, loose-limbed percussion, while Olivia Ness supplies the fluid bottom end and lion's share of the vocals, which range from an unaffected
Au Pairs-like chant ("Out of Time") to full-on
Aretha-meets-
Ani DiFranco testifying ("Supercool"). All 11 tracks on
The C.O.C.O. Sound are short and sweet and get to the point with a skeletal minimum of muss and fuss (just a little dub on a few tracks). If there's a fly in the ointment, it's that Ness and
Sutton haven't quite figured out how to best draw their compositions to a satisfying conclusion. Most simply come to a stop after a couple of minutes or so, but the same could just as easily be said about
Guided By Voices or any number of other lo-fi indie pop bands. ~ Kathleen C. Fennessy