A Few Small Repairs – The Return Of The Audreys

Along with The Cruel Sea, the greatest Australian comeback of 2025 is The Audreys. The much-loved Adelaide band, who have won three ARIA Awards, have released their first album in 11 years. It’s called Ruin & Repair.

The record has also reignited the greatest rivalry in music: The Beatles versus The Rolling Stones. The album’s second single is called Beatles V Stones, and The Audreys singer Taasha Coates is fond of asking people she meets: “Beatles or Stones?”

What have the answers revealed?

“If I was going to put it crudely, Stones fans are sexy and Beatles fans are nerds,” Coates laughs.

“I love being proved wrong, of course. Sexy Beatles fans please form an orderly queue!”

Join our community with our FREE weekly newsletter

So, what’s Coates’ favourite Stones album? “Sticky Fingers (mostly for the cover, total genius).”

And her favourite Beatles album? “Revolver.”

Favourite member of the Stones? “Mick.”

Favourite Beatle? “Ringo.”

So, where does Taasha Coates stand on some of the other great music rivalries?

Skyhooks or Sherbet? “Sherbet. No contest.”

Oasis or Blur? “Blur. Except for, you know, that song.”

Duran Duran or Culture Club? “Duran Duran.”

Putting the fun rivalries aside, Ruin & Repair – The Audreys’ fifth album, their first since 2014’s ’Til My Tears Roll Away – was a difficult record to make. Founding member Tristan Goodall tragically died in 2022, aged 48.

Could Coates feel Tristan’s spirit when she was making the record?

“Yes, sometimes in a wonderful way and sometimes in a way that was almost too much to bear,” she admits. “But I welcomed the good feelings along with the hard ones. It was a big part of my grieving process, writing and recording this album.

“I loved knowing that I had his blessing to do it, and I loved working with his brother Cam on some of the songs. It was profound and healing.”

With Coates’ angelic voice, the album is like one big hug. “Here is a shoulder you can cry on,” she sings.

Beyond Compare is a moving meditation on love and loss. “Between love and loss is a great big lake, full of all the choices that you never got to make.”

In the end, Ruin & Repair is a record about love – in all its glory and all its pain.

“To want to be loved is not a crime,” Coates concludes. “But if it was, they’d give me life.”

The Audreys – Coates, guitarist Tom Kneebone, bass player Felicity Freeman and drummer Beej Barker – kick off their Ruin & Repair tour in Margaret River on March 27.