Cots: Sun-Spotted Apple
A pure voice and poetic lyrics shine on a gently haunting tune.
By Kerry Doole
Cots - Sun-Spotted Apple (Boiled Music): Cots is the solo project of Montreal/Guelph composer, singer and guitarist Steph Yates. Disturbing Body, her full-length debut album, came out in August and has elicited rave reviews. Noted UK mag Mojo termed it "a fascinating affair which evokes both the sophistication of Everything But The Girl's Eden and the sadness of Portuguese fado."
A new single, Sun-Spotted Apple, showcases her subtle charm and pure voice. A gently haunting and minimal tune, it features poetic imagery and is accompanied by a suitably evocative music video.
In a press release, Yates explains that “I made this video with my friends Jade Perry, Sara and Emma Bortolon-Vettor, Emma Howarth-Withers, and Alanna Gurr. We shot it in one evening in my garden in Guelph. Jade coordinated the outfits and we dreamt up a series of vignettes to unfold over the course of the song—leaving ample room for improvisation and behind-the-scenes tomfoolery.”
Describing the album as a whole, she reflects that "these songs, for the most part, have to do with the heart, something I was shy to write about previously. It's possible my deepening love for Brazilian music, wherein some of my favourite artists sing freely about o coração, emboldened me in this way. As a collection, the songs give a prismatic view of a lone heart in its course having known closeness and having known loss.”
Recruiting renowned and adventurous Toronto producer Sandro Perri for the project was definitely a smart decision by an artist who merits our close attention.
Links
Publicity: Ken Beattie, Killbeat
J. Cole at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on July 27, 2026. Gabriel Di Sante