Spoiler alert: The perfectly pleasant lead singer of a perfectly pleasant folk/alt-country group has cut a solo album that is – for lack of a better term – perfectly pleasant. No left-of-centre swerves or sudden detours into jazz or metal or whatever else have you, no-sirree-Bob. Rather, The Audreys’ Taasha Coates has teamed up with Shane Nicholson (who also knows his way around musical pleasantries) to curate a gentle, soulful record full of cooing harmonies and head-in-the-clouds lyricism.
Truth be told, a couple of tweaks here and there could’ve easily turned this into an Audreys record. That’s the thing: there’s nothing on Taasha Coates and Her Melancholy Sweethearts that has the spark or the lasting power of The Audreys’ finest moments, such as Oh Honey or You and Steve McQueen. That certain je ne sais quoi is largely absent here, instead sticking devotedly to foundations and fundamentals.
It’s simply a light stroll through barroom country, quickly taking a look through the window of vintage soul for good measure. There’s not a great deal to critique about the album or to properly analyse. That’s when it hits: there’s not a great deal here period.
By David James Young
