Take a Sip of Cola's Post-Punk Debut "Deep In View" (Fire Talk)
Cola’s Tim Darcy (left), Evan Cartwright (middle) and Ben Stidworthy (right) by Colin Medley
Amidst our post-truth media landscape ablaze with sensationalism, bound by the tirelessness of superficial consumer culture, arrives Deep In View, the debut LP from Canadian three-piece Cola, out this Friday via New York label Fire Talk Records.
Composed of long-time collaborators Tim Darcy and Ben Stidworthy —formally of beloved Montreal band Ought— and Evan Cartwright of U.S. Girls/The Weather Station, the locally-star studded post-punk outfit is void of artificiality, despite its name.
Rather, Deep In View relishes in poetic revelations in a era of lukewarm takes. With an observational tone akin to David Byrne’s commanding Talking Heads personas, coupled with direct, yet animated, guitar-bass-drum arrangements reminiscent of early works by The Strokes, Cola strikes political conversation on modern life with refreshing sincerity.
Chatting with Cola, lead singer and guitarist Tim Darcy attributes the band’s “triumphant honesty” as an outcome of working as a three piece.
“The writing process for this record was pretty nimble and we could workshop things readily,” explains Darcy. “Ben and I have been writing together for a long time, and though there were elements that we wanted to bring into this new project, there were major structural differences; like working with Evan who has such a singular touch, and writing songs separately during periods of on and off isolation,” he adds. “We wanted to keep the band a three piece and see what we could do melodically with sparse instrumentation.”
Since 2019, the trio draws inspiration from each other, whether through in-person sessions or building upon demos sent back and forth during the creation of Deep In View. Drummer Evan Cartwright says the nature of Cola’s experimentation is a welcomed change.
“There is a level of trust in this project that I don’t have in most creative situations. We all give each other so much agency to be able to redirect and change what we’re working on, which doesn’t happen in every band,” he shares.
“I don’t feel an impulse to control. I actually want [Tim and Evan] to change what I’ve written!” adds Stidworthy.
“Mechanically, it’s part of the definition of a band; a chemical reaction that happens when people bring their own idiosyncrasies to the table. What makes Cola Cola is everyone’s individual contributions resulting in this record,” elaborates Darcy.
Cola by Colin Medley
Sonically, Cola’s collaborative patterns aim to compose “worlds or moods that are difficult to pin down emotionally,” explains Stidworthy. Part of guiding audiences through an intentionally off-kilter listening experience is largely driven by Cola’s lyrics, which are often introspective, unfettered and sometimes irritable – yet always graceful.
“I did lean into a personal lens much more on this record than with Ought,” says Darcy. “I tapped into lyrical mindsets and characters as vehicles for my perspective as a writer.”
Darcy’s arresting performance on Deep In View comes from adopting a more traditional “front-man” personality - quintessential to the band’s post-punk roots.
“[The vocals] do have a more singer-songwriter, post-punk clunky-ness to them, (laughs). While the sound isn’t totally shocking, to us or people familiar with our past projects, listening to our songs feels different… Much more personal,” notes Darcy.
Rounding off our interview, Cola speaks of keenly of returning to touring and bringing their meditations to life.
“I’m excited to just get up and play our asses off!” beams Cartwright.
“We’re a guitar band and I think, we’ve made a good album of guitar songs. Hopefully people will experience joy and our songs will make someone feel something and experience a pivotal moment,” muses Stidworthy.
“Even when we played our first returning shows, they were amazing. It’s a lot to ask an audience to sit through a whole set of songs they’ve never heard before, but everyone who came out was great! So far we’ve been getting back into the flow and it’s like no time has passed. I hope that everyone gets to experience that very soon if they haven’t already,” adds Darcy.
1. Blank Curtain
2. So Excited
3. At Pace
4. Met Resistance
5. Degree
6. Water Table
7. Gossamer
8. Mint
9. Fulton Park
10. Landers
Written by Tim Darcy & Ben Stidworthy
Supercollider, Guitar (“Blank Curtain”) & Drums by Evan Cartwright
Guitar, Vocals and Lyrics by Tim Darcy
Bass, Guitar & Keys by Ben Stidworthy
Recorded by Valentin Ignat
Mixed by Gabe Wax
Mastered By Harris Newman
Artwork by Katrijn Oelbrandt
Related Articles
