Biography

COTE, the project of Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Taryn Randall, descends from a timeless, song-driven rock tradition. Sparked by unsparing ruminations on heartbreak and accountability, Randall’s keenly observed songs map the peaks and valleys, twists and dead-ends that mark any trip worth taking — be it physical, emotional, spiritual, or somewhere in between. Guided by producer/bassist Jeremy McDonald (Beyoncé’s “Pray You Catch Me”), COTE collapses the distance between modern and classical, mounting a compelling argument for rock-and-roll in the 21st Century. Randall’s arresting voice, meanwhile, may belong to a category of its own. It’s a kind of velvet lure — by turns pliant and penetrating — wielded with a primal confidence. Impose magazine deemed it “healing,” while Noisey once remarked “her voice is so warm and welcoming you wish it was a cloud you could recline on.” An emigrant from the perma-gloss of Orange County, CA, Randall’s enchanting deconstructions of romantic mythologies (“Golden Hour”) and the mechanics of self-doubt (“Green Light”) linger long after the music stops. “A lot of my songs are about facing the fears and insecurities I have about being honest with myself, or with the world,” she says. “They’re a way to crack myself open and see what’s really there.” COTE’s debut album is scheduled to be released next year.