Album Review: The Audreys - 'Till My Tears Roll Away

The Audreys have been very mean and made us wait quite a while for new music this time around - something about procreating and having new life experiences to inform a new sound. The good news is that the new stuff is all the better for the break – a bit heavier, grittier and more rounded than before, but still with the recognisable sonic backbone. Single and first track, My Darlin' Girl, is a third person roller with a sweet tambourine and whiney guitar, but just a little fiddle for good measure. Also on the upswing are Baby, Are You There and Roll Away, the latter with a sweet guitar growl to complement Taasha Coates getting her revenge on. It's not a complete thrasher, mind, but a good excursion beyond the Easy Listening and Adult Contemporary-ness that has grabbed the duo before.

For fans of the slower and more sultry Audreys, Bring The Stars Out will provide, as will Comfort Me (a waltz with The Nymphs featuring) while I Can't Sleep is just an old-fashioned heartbreaker delivered simply and with no-frills acoustic loveliness. It's well worth staying to the end of the six-minute Love Has A Way Of Unravelling, a jangly singalong that could sit near a campfire or in a daggy pop music setting. Building around the simple title and adding a few more voices, instruments and ornaments for each refrain, it'll likely be lots of fun live too.