CocoRosie

Nobody makes esoteric sound as knock-you-down-and-steal-your-boyfriend gorgeous as CocoRosie. Carefully collected samples (mewing cats, fuzzy French soundbytes) hover around whispered beats, subtle beatboxing, and elegant melodies coaxed out of pianos, accordions, glockenspiels, etc.. Then there are the singers: one dulcet-toned with just a hint of edge, like a choir girl who's knocked back a few glasses of communion wine; the other with a set of wizened, creaky pipes pried straight out of Billie Holiday's cold, dead throat. This music is graceful and chic -- smartypants at its most infinitely listenable.