- Fierce yet delicate R&B from a budding icon.
- "I know what I want and I don't really go for anything else," Cosha said in a feature with Resident Advisor earlier this year. The Irish artist makes R&B that rings true to some of the genre's most treasured icons—think J-Lo, Ashanti, TLC—with a slightly modern touch. She started out making music as Bonzai with quirky-yet-accessible tracks like "Where are u now," landing her a major label record deal before she was even 20. But the demands of the industry had their consequences for an artist at such a young age. In 2018, she reappeared as Cosha with the R.I.P Bonzai mixtape, establishing a new way forward as an artist and buffing out the jagged edges of Bonzai into something more slinky.
Despite her past grapples with the industry, on her debut album Mt. Pleasant Cosha appears to be in full control. She says the album was born amid a period of extended self-reflection following the release of that 2018 mixtape, as she travelled around the world to take a break from music and focus on, well, living it up for her early 20s. This theme of liberation flows through the new LP, right from the top in the bobbing beat of "Berlin Air" through to the pulsing, poppy closer "Bad Luck." It's the kind of record that rushes forward for every second of its 30-minute runtime, keeping things optimistic even in its more introspective moments.
There's a realness to Cosha's lyrics, and a sexual openness that feels made from (and for) the femme gaze. Take the breathy to-and-fro with Shygirl on "Lapdance From Asia" that tells the story of a stripper. Cosha gets into topics we usually only hear men talk about, but her version of events is light and playful. She likes to toy with this sexy confidence: under the rippling percussion of "Hot Tub," Cosha's steamy conviction bubbles to the surface with lyrics like "I recognise / That look on your face / You got issues on your mind but you don't wanna talk / And I know what we need / Come and relax with me / Get in the hot tub, babe." Then you have the bumping bass of "Run The Track," which rolls together nicely with Cosha's sassy but sensual vocals—she knows what she wants and it sounds like she knows how to get it, too.
Like so much good R&B, Cosha's tracks are galvanizing because they make you feel empowered, too. "Do You Wanna Dance" pairs its tickling guitar chords and dancehall-inspired swagger with simple, direct lyrics like "I said fuck it / and I took a chance," with the infectious sense of mischief that comes from being young and carefree (and a wordless chorus that'll stick in your head long after). Even in the more brooding tracks like "No Kink In The Wire," there's an assertiveness to the hooks: "Guy, there's no one alive I know could ever own it like I own it / I'd make your night, I would."
Mt. Pleasant sees a young woman hitting her stride and doing it on her own terms. There's a honeyed warmth swaddling the album, largely thanks to Cosha's vocal tone and her sex-positive lyricism. But where so much of the '00s R&B she takes inspiration from may have felt raunchy in places, Cosha's style rewards with a fresh perspective, subverting male-dominant power structures with a fierce yet still delicate approach.
Tracklist01. Berlin Air
02. No Kink In The Wire
03. Do You Wanna Dance
04. Lapdance From Asia feat. Shygirl
05. Run The Track
06. Tighter
07. Hot Tub
08. Bad Luck