by Dominic Acito (@mycamgrlromance)
The day that the beloved post-punk band Ought broke the news that they were “disbanding,” front man Tim Darcy and bassist Ben Stidworthy announced the formation of a new band; Cola. Enlisting U.S. Girls’ drummer Evan Cartwright, Cola set out to create music made by just three guys in a room. Cola seem to have a Phoenix like rebirth, from the ashes of a former celebrated band, though that doesn’t seem to have been the original intention. It started with friends trading song ideas and demos over the course of lockdown and what better time to announce new music then when you are retiring an old band?
What resulted is the record Deep in View, and fans of Ought will be delighted to know that Cola have a very similar appeal, mostly because of Darcy’s distinct vocal delivery style. Cola however seems devoid of the lighthearted moments common place in Ought’s records. Where Ought experimented with new instrumentation, Cola exceeds at doing more with less. Deep in View gets its name from a collection of works by Philosopher Alan Watts. Much like his work, this album is best considered while navigating the gloomy concrete jungle.
The record kicks off with the song “At Pace”. Here, the band jump into a steady groove with variations on the catchy refrain, “out of nowhere, satisfied, tattooed and starry eyed” It’s difficult not to be reminded of Television’s iconic Marquee Moon because these are both albums filled with urban dread, shimmering guitars, and sparingly used overdrive, not to mention the song “Degree” which includes lyrics about a movie theater marquee. With chiming electric guitar licks and multiple references to technology and its attempts at holding back nature, songs like “Gossamer” feel like a dance against the degradation. Darcy sings “I feel abrasions like a seawall feels the rain” to a beat that has one imagining themselves skipping through a downpour.
Marquee Moon, while similar, isn’t exactly a blueprint for Deep in View. Distinct guitar stylings that use open tunings and much of the melodic nature of the songs being expressed in the bass guitar proves the influences on this album are countless. For instance, “Fulton Park” is a song that could pass as a track off of Wire’s iconic Pink Flag, featuring a less than three-minute run time, similar grooves and art rock influenced lyrics.
The only song on Deep in View that deviates from the guitar, bass, vocals, and drums lineup is the sixth song, “Landers”. In “Landers”, vocalist Tim Darcy delivers a post-punk version of a beat poem over a ballad like piano with brushed drums. Darcy employs a spoken/singing style that gives the impression he’s on the verge of breaking out into a Sinatra like croon, but he never does and the song ends with a clanging reverb of an organ. In this poem we are given a glimpse of how the members of Cola chose their name when he says “Soda, a beverage bound by laws older than men to poison the most ordinary life on Earth”. This doesn’t stop the narrator from describing a situation where you can take a break on the side of the road “pulled over and enjoying sodas”.
“Landers” serves as a sort of intermission, as the album jumps back into its regular momentum with “Met Resistance,” another song that is reminiscent of Wire’s Pink Flag. The album ends with one of the highlight tracks, “Water Table,” a song with an infectious beat and vocal melodies you will carry with you for the rest of the day.