The Audreys – Ruin & Repair
Following the release of their first new music in 10 years last November, today ARIA Award-winning act The Audreys unveil a brand new country-soaked ballad, “Beatles V Stones,” alongside the announcement of their fifth studio album, Ruin & Repair, due out on Friday March 14.
Penned about the age-old rivalry between fans of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, Beatles V Stones layers tranquil melodics against swooning instrumentation, also set against a 12/8 swaying country time signature that nods to American great Jason Isbell’s trademark stylings; a fitting inspiration given The Audreys vocalist Taasha Coates’ revelation that the single itself originally started life under the moniker: “that Jason Isbell one”.
“One of the questions I like to ask people to work out if I’m going to like them or not is “Beatles or Stones” (I’m firmly camp Stones for the record) so this is about that,” shares Coates of the Beatles V Stones origin story. “I wrote it mostly on my own on guitar, then my guitarist Tom came along and added the bridge and some cool harmonic moments.”
“I learned to play guitar during COVID because I was so, so bored,” Coates adds. “I was a piano player up until that point, plus I played a bit of ukulele and harmonica and melodica and various other small and silly instruments. At first, I hated the guitar because it tore up my fingers and made my hand ache, but once I popped on my big girl panties about the pain, I loved how easy it was to write songs with. A guitar is always just a reach away, you don’t have to get up and walk to the piano if you get inspired.”
As with The Audreys most recent release, the sublime alt-country gem Secondhand Boots, “Beatles V Stones” once again sees Coates working alongside Tom Kneebone on guitar, Felicity Freedman on bass, and Beej Barker on drums, recorded by producer and engineer Ryan Martin John at his Adelaide studio, Cactus Cactus Sound, and mastered by Alex Mader from MaderVMusic. And the dream team behind both Secondhand Boots and Beatles V Stones also joined forces to conjure the overarching album Ruin & Repair; The Audreys’ first full-length since 2014’s ‘Til My Tears Roll Away, and also the first album since the devastating passing of The Audreys founding member Tristan Goodall. “I was quite depressed when I wrote this,” shares Coates. “I struggled a lot with depression after my best friend, songwriting partner and original Audrey, Tristan, died in 2022, but once I’d gotten through the initial grief, I found the process of writing and recording this album very healing. I still miss him and have sad days of course, but I know he would have loved this record and that makes me really proud and happy.”
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