Cola Share New Single "Albatross" + Add Tour Dates
Cola returns today with another taste of the new album “The Gloss” While a degree of compact minimalism is a hallmark of the band's sound, the tracks that have been heard from Cola's new LP have shown a more discursive bent than their first album. The songs have more parts and more variations, and a tendency to blend an undercurrent of simmering urgency with oblique rhythms and changes of pace. 'Albatross' is no exception, maintaining a forward momentum redolent of the race horses featured in Darcy's lyrics, but with a contemplative element worked into the band's spacious arrangements.
Darcy says of the track:
"This song had a few lives before it took its final form. We played a much faster version on some later Deep in View tours with different lyrics. When we eventually got to the studio we revisited Ben's original demo and decided to slow it down and re-introduce a heavier feeling.
I then had a spark of inspiration and completely rewrote the lyrics, which center around "an albatross"--something that greatly hinders accomplishment. From there I started thinking about a horse race and perhaps some trainer watching a slow motion replay to try identify what's wrong with an animal's stride, hence the chorus."
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The Gloss is the second album from Cola. From their inception Cola have expanded on the d.i.y. ethic of the Dischord and SST eras, creating potent sounds from a minimal palette of drums/bass/guitar and lacing their songs with winsome one-liners and societal commentary. What’s another word for commentary? Gloss, apparently. Never basic, the lyrics reward repeated listening for deeper meanings. David Berman’s poetry-via-garage light pennings are an inspiration, as equally so are the lighter side of UK first-wave New Wave and the Dunedin sound. The results are in the pudding: at times sparse and poetic, at others a thrilling, hook-laden good time, as with the cheeky romantic sketch of a one-night stand that is so overflowing with innuendo-cum-journalism talk that it almost teeters over into self-parody. But the results are the right combination of lightheartedness and sincerity. Romanticism is never far from laughter, and equally never far from righteous anger in the music of Cola: “Pulling quotes now in the dark/Our outlook is restrained/Your tongue might weaken to be-fit your smile/Til nothing ill remains.” ‘nuff said. It's an album bursting with energy and wit and ideas–filled to the margins. Out June 14th 2024 on Fire Talk.
The Gloss is the second album from Cola. From their inception Cola have expanded on the d.i.y. ethic of the Dischord and SST eras, creating potent sounds from a minimal palette of drums/bass/guitar and lacing their songs with winsome one-liners and societal commentary. What’s another word for commentary? Gloss, apparently. Never basic, the lyrics reward repeated listening for deeper meanings. David Berman’s poetry-via-garage light pennings are an inspiration, as equally so are the lighter side of UK first-wave New Wave and the Dunedin sound. The results are in the pudding: at times sparse and poetic, at others a thrilling, hook-laden good time, as with the cheeky romantic sketch of a one-night stand that is so overflowing with innuendo-cum-journalism talk that it almost teeters over into self-parody. But the results are the right combination of lightheartedness and sincerity. Romanticism is never far from laughter, and equally never far from righteous anger in the music of Cola: “Pulling quotes now in the dark/Our outlook is restrained/Your tongue might weaken to be-fit your smile/Til nothing ill remains.” ‘nuff said. It's an album bursting with energy and wit and ideas–filled to the margins. Out June 14th 2024 on Fire Talk.
Get “The Gloss” and The Cola Horse Tee Bundled.
*This is a pre order item, ships on or before the June 14th release date.
The Gloss is the second album from Cola. From their inception Cola have expanded on the d.i.y. ethic of the Dischord and SST eras, creating potent sounds from a minimal palette of drums/bass/guitar and lacing their songs with winsome one-liners and societal commentary. What’s another word for commentary? Gloss, apparently. Never basic, the lyrics reward repeated listening for deeper meanings. David Berman’s poetry-via-garage light pennings are an inspiration, as equally so are the lighter side of UK first-wave New Wave and the Dunedin sound. The results are in the pudding: at times sparse and poetic, at others a thrilling, hook-laden good time, as with the cheeky romantic sketch of a one-night stand that is so overflowing with innuendo-cum-journalism talk that it almost teeters over into self-parody. But the results are the right combination of lightheartedness and sincerity. Romanticism is never far from laughter, and equally never far from righteous anger in the music of Cola: “Pulling quotes now in the dark/Our outlook is restrained/Your tongue might weaken to be-fit your smile/Til nothing ill remains.” ‘nuff said. It's an album bursting with energy and wit and ideas–filled to the margins. Out June 14th 2024 on Fire Talk.
Get both “The Gloss” and “Deep in View” on limited color vinyl.
*This is a pre order item, ships on or before the June 14th release date.
Cola On Tour
8th May | Hanover, DE – Cafe Glocksee
9th May | Rotterdam, NL – Vessell 11
10th May | Eindhoven, NL – Altstadt
11th May | Luxembourg – Out of the Crowd Festival
13th May | Ramsgate, UK – Ramsgate Music Hall
14th May | Birkenhead, UK – Future Yard
15th May | Cardiff, UK – Clwb Ifor Bach
16th May | London, UK – The Garage – Medical Aid for Palestinians Benefit Show w/ Shame + PVA
17th May | London, UK – The George Tavern
18th May | London, UK – The George Tavern
5th July | Toronto, ON – The Garrison ^
6th July | Cleveland, OH – Mahall's ^
7th July | Detroit, MI – Lager House ^
8th July | Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle ^
11th July | Nashville, TN – Third Man Records ^
12th July | Atlanta, GA – 529 ^
13th July | Asheville, NC – Eulogy &
15th July | Washington, DC – Songbyrd +
16th July | Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda's +
17th July | New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom +
18th July | Troy, NY – No Fun +
19th July | Boston, MA – The Rockwell +
20th July | Montreal, QC – Theatre Fairmount +
26th July | Teulon, MB – Real Love Summer Festival
10th Oct | San Diego, CA – Soda Bar *
11th Oct | Los Angeles, CA – Zebulon *
12th Oct | San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill *
14th Oct | Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios *
16th Oct | Vancouver, BC – Wise Hall
17th Oct | Seattle, WA – Madame Lou's *
11th Nov | Maastricht, Netherlands – Muziekgieterij
12th Nov | Paris, France – Supersonic
13th Nov | Utrecht, Netherlands – Ekko
14th Nov | Groningen, Netherlands – Vera
16 Nov | Berlin, Germany – Hole44 (supporting METZ)
17th Nov | Hamburg, Germany – Aalhaus
19th Nov | Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
20th Nov | Glasgow, UK – Broadcast
21st Nov | Dublin, IR – The Workman's Club
22nd Nov | Manchester, UK – YES (The Pink Room)
+ = w/ Mhaol
* = w/ Mind Shrine
^ = w/ Devon Welsh