When the three Roche sisters--Suzzy, Maggie, and Terre--sing together, they're not just among the most spellbinding in the world: they can make the world go away altogether, and then bring it back to the listener, brighter and refreshed. That's the project of Moonswept, their first trio album in over a decade, a collection of fables and fantasies, kooky jokes and loungey confections, intricate rondelets and jaunty satires, intimations of innocence and expressions of experience. Writing most of the songs and playing most of the instruments, the three give the feel of a family reunion--but a deliciously fun one. "Us Little Kids" begins the album with slyly rocking mischief and "Jesus Shaves" closes it with a picture of Christ thrown into an absurd modern-day working world. In between, they strip away the masks of medication and pride to a swinging Latin groove ("Piggy Mask") and find that love isn't a simple choice to the sound of multiple acoustic guitars fusing as completely as their voices. Their first love will always be comedy, but they also evoke and then transcend tragedy. "Did you ever take a walk to the edge of town, before the airplanes took the buildings down?" they ask on "Only You Know How." And on "September 11th at the Shambhala Center" they find some believable hope in the connection between artist and audience: "Don't lose your nerve/You are the ones who are singing and I am the listener," sings Terre, as her sisters build to a gorgeous pop crescendo. The Roches have been making records since 1979--they may have just made their very best. --Roy Kasten
- Track Listings : Disc 1
- us little kids
- only you know how
- no shoes
- moonswept
- family of bones
- the naughty lady of shady lane
- long before
- piggy mask
- huh
- stop performing
- gung ho
- instead i chose
- september 11th at the Shambhala center
- jesus saves
