Sharon Coates
‘None of the
Above’
Self-released
There’s a bit of a
dichotomy going on with Sharon Coates’ new and third CD. To reference Monk,
it’s full of ugly beauty. Coates has a beautiful, almost sorrowful voice, which
when paired with her backing band’s rugged support, is evenmore soft and lonely. This is
especially true on songs like “Radio,” in which she laments the vast wasteland
that is contemporary radio, and the #MeToo movement salvo “Hey Man.” The
juxtaposition totally works. You’ve got to reconcile the push and pull between
the songs that are angry, songs that are pretty, and the ones where Coates and
her band casually collide to share the mood. It’ll be worth the effort.
This article appears in Rochester Ten 2019.
