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Tales of a GrassWidow

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Tales of a GrassWidow, sometimes stylized as Tales of a Grasswidow, is the fifth studio album by American musical group CocoRosie. It was released by independent record labels City Slang and Republic of Music on May 27, 2013 in the United Kingdom and May 28, 2013 in the United States.[3][4][5] The album's sound has been described as "indie pop" and "indie folk".[6]

Tales of a GrassWidow
Studio album by
CocoRosie
ReleasedMay 27, 2013 (2013-05-27)
GenreIndie pop, indie folk, folktronica
Length59:56
LabelCity Slang, Republic of Music
Producer
CocoRosie chronology
Grey Oceans
(2010) 		Tales of a GrassWidow
(2013) 		Heartache City
(2015)
Singles from Tales of a GrassWidow
  1. "Gravediggress"
    Released: February 19, 2013[1]
  2. "After the Afterlife"
    Released: April 2, 2013[2]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [8]
Clash8/10[9]
Consequence of SoundC+[10]
The Line of Best Fit6.5/10[11]
MusicOMH     [12]
The Observer     [13]
Pitchfork6.7/10[14]
PopMatters          [15]

Tales of a GrassWidow received generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on 18 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7]

The Guardian's Phil Mongredien gave the album a rating of 3 out of 5 stars, praising the versatility of Bianca Casady's vocals ("at times childlike, an instant later carrying the emotional heft of Billie Holiday") but stating that "too much of the material … is content to merely sit in the background, not something from which they usually suffer".[16] In a review for music blog GoldFlakePaint, Lee Adcock stated that Tales of a GrassWidow's best moments "are its most minimal ones", describing the track "Broken Chariot" as the "most captivating" and "only intimate" track on the album, and suggesting that while "the production is even crisper" and the "techno beats are even more prominent", much of the album is "crowded with incongruous ideas" and "just snatches of abstract poetry, all striking at certain verses, but perplexing when strung together".[17]

In a review for Pitchfork, assigning the album a rating of 6.7 out of 10, Brian Howe described Tales of a GrassWidow as "remarkably straightforward" and "remarkably pleasant" in comparison to CocoRosie's previous records, noting the "practical songwriting, with refreshingly natural vocals and themes that tend toward the soapy and sentimental". Howe praised the "sleek Valgeir Sigurðsson production", the "juiced-up piano and synth bounce" of the track "After the Afterlife", the "velvety Mesoamerican flutes" of the track "Broken Chariot", and the "folksy … cracked brightness" of the track "Roots of My Hair", opining that the album "feels like a long-held transgressive impulse spending its last momentum, beneficially redirecting energy into more direct emotional appeals".[18]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Sierra Rose Casady and Bianca Leilani Casady, and former member Gaël Alfred Rakotondrabé where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."After the Afterlife"Gaël Alfred Rakotondrabé3:03
2."Tears for Animals*" 5:18
3."Child Bride" 4:18
4."Broken Chariot" 2:14
5."End of Time"Gaël Alfred Rakotondrabé3:20
6."Harmless Monster"Gaël Alfred Rakotondrabé3:07
7."Gravediggress" 5:26
8."Far Away" 4:36
9."Roots of My Hair" 5:58
10."Villain" 4:19
11."Poison" / "Devil's Island" 18:18
Total length:59:56

*Not to be confused with the track "Tearz for Animals", featuring British singer Anonhi, from CocoRosie's 2012 double-sided single "We Are On Fire".

Personnel

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Credits adapted from liner notes.

  • CocoRosie – performance, production, recording, artwork
  • Gael Rakotondrabe – arrangement (1, 5, 10), piano (1, 5, 6), keyboards (1, 5, 10), synthesizer (1, 5), guitar (5), organ (10)
  • Antony Hegarty – vocals (2, 11)
  • Tez – human beatbox (2, 5, 7, 8, 10)
  • Valgeir Sigurðsson – drum programming (2, 7, 8, 9, 11), production, recording
  • Ashok Foga – vocals (3), drums (3)
  • Mahipai Foga – castanet (3)
  • Kusumakar – bamboo flute (3, 4)
  • Ashley "Say Wut?!" Moyer – human beatbox (6), vocals (9)
  • Finnbogi Petursson – tones (8, 11)
  • Ezekiel Healy – guitar (9)
  • Nico Kalwill – additional production, engineering, mixing
  • Paul Evans – additional recording
  • Jon Trier Ottossen – engineering assistance
  • Scott Hull – mastering
  • Jean-Marc Ruellan – layout
  • Jesse Hazelip – lettering

Charts

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Chart Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] 49
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 49
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] 64
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22] 99
French Albums (SNEP)[23] 27
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] 47
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 43

References

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  1. ^ "Gravediggress - Single by CocoRosie". Apple Music. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  2. ^ "After the Afterlife - Single by CocoRosie". Apple Music. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  3. ^ "CocoRosie - Tales Of A GrassWidow". City Slang. January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  4. ^ Britt, Thomas (June 5, 2013). "CocoRosie: Tales of a GrassWidow". PopMatters. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  5. ^ Sully, George (May 8, 2013). "CocoRosie – Tales of a Grass Widow | Album Review | The Skinny". www.theskinny.co.uk. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  6. ^ "CocoRosie - Tales Of A Grasswidow". Discogs. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Tales of a Grass Widow by CocoRosie". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  8. ^ Phares, Heather. "Tales of a GrassWidow - CocoRosie". AllMusic. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  9. ^ James, Gareth (May 25, 2013). "CocoRosie - Tales Of A GrassWidow". Clash. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  10. ^ Flynn, Katherine (May 29, 2013). "CocoRosie – Tales of a GrassWidow". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  11. ^ Cottingham, Christian (May 29, 2013). "CocoRosie – Tales of a GrassWidow". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  12. ^ Clarke, Helen (May 24, 2013). "CocoRosie – Tales Of A GrassWidow". MusicOMH. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  13. ^ Mongredien, Phil (May 26, 2013). "CocoRosie: Tales of a GrassWidow – review". The Observer. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  14. ^ Howe, Brian (May 29, 2013). "CocoRosie: Tales of a GrassWidow". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  15. ^ Britt, Thomas (June 5, 2013). "CocoRosie: Tales of a GrassWidow". PopMatters. Archived from the original on October 9, 2013. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  16. ^ Mongredien, Phil (May 25, 2013). "CocoRosie: Tales of a GrassWidow – review". the Guardian. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  17. ^ Adcock, Lee (May 13, 2013). "Review | Cocorosie ~ Tales of a GrassWidow". GoldFlakePaint. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  18. ^ Howe, Brian (May 29, 2013). "CocoRosie: Tales of a GrassWidow". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  19. ^ "Austriancharts.at – CocoRosie – Tales Of A Grass Widow" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – CocoRosie – Tales Of A Grass Widow" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – CocoRosie – Tales Of A Grass Widow" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  22. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – CocoRosie – Tales Of A Grass Widow" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  23. ^ "Lescharts.com – CocoRosie – Tales Of A Grass Widow". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  24. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – CocoRosie – Tales Of A Grass Widow" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  25. ^ "Swisscharts.com – CocoRosie – Tales Of A Grass Widow". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
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