Montreal band Ought announced their breakup last November, while frontman/guitarist Tim Darcy and bassist Ben Stidworthy simultaneously announced they'd formed a new band, Cola, with U.S. Girls drummer Evan Cartwright. "What started as stripped-down open D songwriting with a CR-78 soon became a full album and new band," say Cola. "We wanted to see how far we could stretch our compositions with just drums, one guitar, one bass, and one voice."Cola's debut album, Deep in View, is out today via Fire Talk, and its minimal sound recalls both The Strokes and Spoon, but below the immediately catchy indie rock lies more complex playing. Give it a spin below.
We asked Tim and Ben to tell us about some of the influences behind Deep in View, and they returned with a list of albums and songs, including post-punk, britpop, jazz, punk and more. Check that out, complete with commentary, below.
Cola will be on tour starting next month, with a Brooklyn show at Baby's All Right on June 23 with Lip Critic and Thanks for Coming. All dates are listed below.
Cola - Influences Behind Deep in View
Antelope - Reflector This early 2000’s Dischord band was definitely on heavy rotation when we first started writing the album. The sparse, tight, hooky grooves gave me a lot of inspiration thinking about the possibilities of a power trio. Also a 25 minute album for this type of band is just perfect. [Tim]
Bill Callahan & Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Blind Date Party I’m a big fan of both BC and BPB and I really enjoyed this series of singles they did together. The energy of it, presenting them all as standalone songs with their own art and a special guest had this spirit of playfulness that was refreshing. I didn’t always love the track but there was usually something interesting or unexpected, like an advent calendar of misfit toys. [Tim]
The Sound - Jeopardy I came across this record on a youtube recommendation at some point when I was researching songs for my FSR show (fsr.live – check it out yall). It’s pretty classic 80’s post punk but they were ahead of their time in a lot of ways. What sticks out to me is how unhurried the songs are. It’s definitely a much more straightforward rock sound than I usually listen to (unless I’m completely leaning in to some Rolling Stones or something) but I find the energy really endearing. They sound like they’re having a good bit of fun with the rock song format and there are moments of real soulfulness scattered throughout. They also weren’t afraid to leave space for the drums. [Tim]
Jeff Parker - The New Breed I got really into this album while we were writing. I think his playing is amazing but the actual sound of the recordings is so great. The tones across the board have so much personality while also being warm and intimate. Some of it reminds me of messing around with a drum machine and a guitar in my bedroom and other moments are just genius vibey jazz-inflected jams. Amazing melodies that don’t feel overcooked. [Tim]
Blur - 13 I've been listening to Graham Coxon's guitar playing my whole life but while we wrote Deep In View I was particularly interested in exactly what his hands are doing. I think he's a generational player who has the perfect balance of knowing the rules and the technique for complete expression without any ruts. This is harder for me and so I looked to this record as guidance for what is possible in unconventional chord shapes and melody lines. [Ben]
John Scofield - "Can't Dance" I carried this track with me from the genesis of the record, not as a talisman so much as a melody I just couldn't shake. Actually just the first minute of the song. I read a review of the track that referred to the lead line as "rustic" and that really stuck with me. It's funny to me because in essence it's another way of saying major pentatonic, a feature of a lot of trad music. But I believe that it was that language which helped keep my writing rooted to an earthy quality which I hope feels more timeless. [Ben]
Althea Waites - Black Diamonds This record was on repeat for a lot of my songwriting process. At some point I decided I wanted move from composing with guitar to piano but only one piano song ended up on the record. Althea Waites performance of Florence Beatrice Price's Piano Sonata in E Minor is particularly notable and while I didn't ever dive deep into chordal analysis, it would have been hard for her to not affect my playing or ear. [Ben]
--
Cola - 2022 Tour Dates: 06.18 - Montreal, QC @ Suoni il Popolo Fest 06.20 - Winooski, VT @ Monkey House 06.21 - Providence, RI @ AS220s 06.22 - Kingston, NY @ Tubby's 06.23 - Brooklyn, NY @ Baby's All Right 06.24 - Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie 06.25 - Washington, DC @ DC9 06.27 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle (Back Room) 06.28 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl 06.29 - Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR 07.01 - Dallas, TX @ Ruins 07.02 - Austin, TX @ The Parish 07.05 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge 07.06 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar 07.07 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo 07.08 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop 07.10 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios 07.11 - Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore 07.12 - Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern 07.14 - Boise, ID @ Neurolux 07.16 - Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive 07.18 - Omaha, NE @ Slowdown 07.19 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry 07.20 - Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club 07.22 - Detroit, MI @ Magic Bag 07.23 - Toronto, ON @ Baby G 8.20 - Crickhowell, UK @ Green Man Festival 8.23 - Brighton, UK @ Prince Albert 8.24 - London, UK @ Moth Club 8.25 - Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds 8.26 - Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade Bristol 8.27 - Birkenhead, UK @ Future Yard 8.28 - Sunderland, UK @ Pop Recs Ltd. 8.30 - Edinburgh, UK @ Sneaky Pete's 8.31 - Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast 9.1 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club 9.2 - Nottingham, UK @ Rough Trade 9.3 - Manchester, UK @ Manchester Psych Fest (Yes) 9.4 - Salisbury, UK @ End of the Road Festival
