Today, Cola (a project from former Ought members Tim Darcy and Ben Stidworthy and US Girls/The Weather Station drummer Evan Cartwright) have returned with their new single, ‘Bitter Melon’, released via Fire Talk.
The release is the first of a new era for Cola, previously hinted at through 2023’s ‘Keys Down If You Stay’ which featured on the deluxe edition of their debut album, Deep in View. Additionally, the band has also announced a series of tour dates across the UK and Europe, taking place this Spring.
The new single features a looser, more exploratory sound compared with their debut album, taking listeners on a hypnotic journey. Polyrhythmic guitar fingering and repetitive beats create an enchanting soundscape, drawing inspiration from the more unconventional side of krautrock.
Of ‘Bitter Melon, vocalist Tim Darcy states:
This one started with a demo brought in by Ben. The vocals and lyrics came naturally from the backlit, brooding atmosphere of the music. I wrote what was almost a piece of fiction (fleshed out in the accompanying zine we’ve released) where a person is up in the middle of the night studying ‘the gloss’–additional comments written in the margins of a book.
He continues: ‘In my mind the text was like the rind of a fruit surrounding something, maybe even written at an earlier point by the reader. The motorik drums and chiming guitars are guided by the bass on this song, something not unusual for us but the bass provides a compelling long-form melody on this song. The track has the energy of a full moon or some kind of fertile dark / Gaia-facing productive spirit to me.”
The single has been released as a flexi disc and is accompanied by a zine that can be found in independent record stores worldwide.
Cola 2024 UK/EU tour dates
8th May | Hannover, DE – Cafe Glocksee
9th May | Rotterdam, NL – V11
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
17th May | London, UK – The George Tavern
18th May | London, UK – The George Tavern
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