The Roches

No new record by the Roches can bring the awesome surprise their debut did, but their
third album is nearly as perfect. The first may have been prettier by conventional
folk-music standards, but Keep On Doing is more ambitious, emphasizing some peculiar
instrumentation–especially the coolly excited, pulsing guitar runs by Robert Fripp–that
often gives it the feel of rock, although the record is lush with acoustic guitars.... More >

This sounds so good I'm beginning to believe Robert Fripp was put on earth to produce the Roches (each of us has a place in the cosmic plan, after all). It's not just the honest depth and sweet bite of the voices that make it richer musically than the debut--the songs ring with acoustic guitar ostinatos hookier than any Byrds rip you fancy. The writing has rebounded, too, though because the narrative punch and sense of overarching purpose still lags they no longer seem like protofeminist avatars--just pros who set out to prove themselves with a good album and damn right succeeded. (Grade: A-)