Cousteau
Nova Scotia

Davey Ray Moor is gone. And you can feel it!

After their stunning self-titled debut in 2000 and the equally acclaimed follow-up in 2002, the Cousteau arrive at the crucial third album without their guiding man.
Released quietly about five years ago, the first album, initially printed in limited copies, received a decisive push towards success thanks to the enchanting single "The Last Good Day Of The Year" blessed even by, believe it or not, Platinette.
The record label (vultures) wisely decided to reprint the album with the inevitable bonus tracks and make it available even in supermarkets.
The entire album explored soft territories immersed in enchanting ballads with trumpets, double basses, languid piano touches, and an after midnight ambiance flavored with bourbon and a cigarette between the fingers.
"Sirena" released two years later did nothing more than follow in the predecessor's footsteps, and while the element of surprise might have been over, the same could not be said about the quality and intensity of the tracks.

In light of this third album, it must be acknowledged that Cousteau had few escape routes and perhaps Davey Ray Moor, by abandoning ship, realized it before the others.
The survivors, uncertain about what to do (they even thought of rebranding as Moreau), entrusted the helm to the heavily tattooed singer Liam McKahey, who wrote or co-wrote almost all ten tracks of this new musical endeavor.
But, if it's not in your blood, it's difficult to reinvent oneself as a songwriter, and the result is a bland album, without head or tail, and without a track that stands out from the others. The genre is still the same, Liam McKahey's voice remains that of a confidential crooner, alluring, seductive, but the songs struggle to stay in the memory.
During the listening, you wait for the track that will make you jump from your chair, but in the end, there remains only tedium and boredom with the distinct impression of merely scraping by.
I have a suspicion that they wanted to exploit the band's name by digging up the tracks discarded from the sessions of the previous two albums.
I don't feel like going on any further, but if you are interested in Cousteau, go back and find the first two albums.