Coco—the project of Maia Friedman, Oliver Hill, and Dan Molad—began as an experiment of sorts; three friends writing songs for nothing other than the ritual of doing so. “There’s a mutual admiration and trust among us,” the band shares. “It allows a ‘first thought best thought’ mentality.” Their vast and varied individual creative histories—notably with Dirty Projectors, Lucius, and Pavo Pavo—inform an illustrious, collective sensibility for songcraft. Coco’s self-titled debut gathered fervent acclaim from tastemakers at NPR, BBC, SiriusXM, and Spotify among others. The trio headlined packed rooms in New York City, Los Angeles, and London, made their festival debut at End of the Road, and supported Kevin Morby on a national tour.
Since, life has flown wildly forward for the members of Coco—Oliver getting married, Dan getting engaged, Maia giving birth to her first child. Their highly anticipated sophomore release—starkly titled ‘2’—honors these transformations. On opener “Any Other Way” Coco meditates on change from a widescreen perspective: The leaf and the body, each in their time, turns on a schedule, turns on a dime. Maia lays a lush bed of shoegaze guitars; Dan’s builds ecstasy from downtempo drums; Oliver stirs a current of hypnotically looping basslines. The song is a stunning microcosm of this band’s specific genius: carving space for each musical personality to shine, without the shadows of excess or distraction.
“Though it’s only been a few years, the band has seen us through fundamental transformations in each of our lives, which we are fortunate enough to process together.” Self-produced, with collaboration from Adrian Olsen (Lucy Dacus, Fruit Bats, Bedouine), the album is sensuous and spellike, its sonics varying from lush, shoegaze guitars, to dusky electronica, to jangly 60’s pop. Maia, Oliver, and Dan continue their sacred practice—arriving to each other empty-handed and open-hearted, finding power in three equal parts.
Coco’s sophomore album ‘2’ is sensuous and spellike, as Maia, Oliver, and Dan continue their sacred practice—arriving to each other empty-handed and open-hearted, finding power in three equal parts. The result is pure and formidable music, songs that emerge with an elegant, egalitarian honesty and encompass a world of emotion.
