When Maia Friedman (Dirty Projectors), Dan Molad (Lucius), and Oliver Hill (Pavo Pavo) joined together to form Coco, the trio launched a string of singles anonymously in 2020.  Organically “Empty Beach” amassed a million streams, while “One Time Villain” and “Last of the Loving.”

Today Coco has announced their long awaited self-titled album, which is slated for release October 29.  The band has also dropped the video to “Knots” that seemingly chronicles the recording of the album with picturesque backdrops and carefree moments.  The result is breathlessly dream-like single that is charming and moving all at the same time.

In 2019, Friedman, Molad, Hill came together on an afternoon in Los Angeles. Old friends with rich history—Maia and Oliver had toured together more than once; Dan had produced music for their respective projects—the trio convened with ambiguous artistic intention, easy chemistry, and open expectations. Before the sun had set, Coco had a name and two fully formed songs.  “Music sprung up between us with a surprising and collaborative ease. It felt like a creative playground in contrast to the demands of our other projects. From the beginning, we made a conscious effort to foreground our intuitions and trust each other’s first instincts—criticism and indecision weren’t a part of the process,” the band states on the website.

Coco recorded their self-titled debut album in three studios across the country: The Paella Pit in LA, Three Sirens in Nashville, and the Lake House in Spicewood, Texas. Over ten tracks, the band outrightly defy decade, their sound sitting as comfortably with the intimate pop of Stereolab or Arthur Russell as the iconic sweeping productions of the Carpenters or Astrud Gilberto. Full of human energy, the music feels at once tightly constructed and expansive, inviting the listener to wander and explore its hallways. Its sense of momentum casts a gentle, funky, melodic spell.