In 2004, the Chapin Sisters’ acoustic cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” began popping up on Los Angeles radio stations; the trio may have been singing through smirks, but they converted the dance-pop grind into a genuinely unnerving (maybe even prescient?) saga of self-destruction. That gothic sarcasm carries over to their debut album, where they overcome a precious conceit — three sisters singing in immaculate three-part harmony over spare acoustic arrangements — by folding in black comedy (“Don’t want to live sad and lonely / So go get a rock / And just stone me”).
