Cola I Support: Magasin

Cola im Badehaus Berlin

Cola — the Montreal trio of Tim Darcy (vocals/guitar), Ben Stidworthy (bass), and Evan Cartwright (drums) — announce their new album, Cost of Living Adjustment, out May 8th via Fire Talk Records, and present its lead single/video, “Hedgesitting.” C.O.L.A. is sort of a self-titled album. It’s an acronym for Cost of Living Adjustment, a fitting conceptual framework for the band’s third record. Why? Because C.O.L.A. considers, among other things, socialism vs. hell. It considers: rolling the dice of life. The eerie and sweet pangs that nostalgia can provoke. Cost of Living Adjustment is an intricate, beautiful, and sometimes strange record. It is the band’s most refined offering. A perfection of carefully honed aesthetic impulses.

Cola, as a band, says Darcy is defined by its “tasteful minimalism.” A deep appreciation for making music that is romantic, subtle, and deceptively intense. C.O.L.A., however, is the band’s most maximalist work to date. In practice, this maximalism means that a song like “Hedgesitting,” has both live drums and a sample drum loop. “Hedgesitting”— presented alongside a stunning video helmed by Kristina Pedersen — is a gorgeous, lush song. It’s like a deconstructed, chopped & screwed b-side from the Cure’s Disintegration. It’s also a little indebted to Sarah Records. “When you were young,” Darcy sings at the song’s start, “you came to make it.”