Montreal trio Cola — Tim Darcy (vocals/guitar), Ben Stidworthy (bass), and Evan Cartwright (drums) — have unveiled Haveluck Country, the final single lifted from their new record ‘Cost of Living Adjustment’, out now via Fire Talk Records. Press play. You’ll want to.
The track is pure Cola — idiosyncratic, poetic, and deceptively layered. Darcy drops you into a strange, sun-baked landscape right from the jump: drugstore vitamins, diplomatic immunity, and an eerie kind of serenity that prickles the back of your neck. It’s the kind of writing that rewards attention without demanding it. Equal parts oblique and vivid.
The video, directed by the filmmaking duo Camille Anais Semprez and Cedar Teionietathe Jocks (who also helmed the clip for So Excited off Cola’s debut), takes Darcy to an abandoned western movie set deep in the desert, under the glow of a near-full moon. Helmet on. Dancing around a mysterious compound. Totally committed. The band says it best themselves:
“They took Tim to a western movie set in the deep desert, abandoned of activity in the midnight hours. It was the perfect setting to investigate the themes of the song. What does it mean to live in the Haveluck Country anyways? The ‘red right hand’ could be of a gunslinger — or pure camp. A metaphor for an archaic political climate. Is the sun perhaps setting on the old west? Is the pathetic and imaginary political promise of the ‘shining city on the hill’ vacant and empty as a western saloon façade??” — Cola
About ‘Cost of Living Adjustment’
‘Cost of Living Adjustment’ — or C.O.L.A., which makes it sort of a self-titled record in the most Cola way possible — is the Montreal trio’s third album and their most refined to date. It’s been called “guitar-driven, head banging” by FADER and earned the band praise from The Guardian, CBC, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, Consequence, and more leading up to its release. The Guardian put it simply: “Cola are maturing into an even better band.” Hard to argue.
Where earlier records leaned into sprechgesang — that talk-sing cadence Darcy has long been associated with — C.O.L.A. shifts to let melody lead. Vocal lines sit on equal footing with every other instrument, creating a record that’s ruthlessly self-aware, all parts in direct conversation. Intricate, beautiful, sometimes strange. Cartwright describes it as “a deepening of what we’ve been doing.” Eleven tracks. No filler. Chiseled.
The album tracklist: Forced Position, Hedgesitting, Fainting Spells, Haveluck Country, Satre-torial, Polished Knives, Much of a Muchness, Third Double, Conflagration Mindset, Favoured Over The Ride, Skywriter’s Sigh.
Tour Dates
Cola are hitting the road hard in support of the record — Australia in June, North America in July, and a full UK/European run this fall. Tickets on sale now.
June — Australia
Wed. June 10 — Wollongong, AU @ La La La’s
Thu. June 11 — Canberra, AU @ UC Hub
Sat. June 13 — Newcastle, AU @ The Hamilton Station Hotel
Sun. June 14 — Sydney, AU @ Mary’s Underground
Wed. June 17 — Adelaide, AU @ The Ed Castle
Thu. June 18 — Melbourne, AU @ The Thornbury Theatre
Fri. June 19 — Castlemaine, AU @ The Bridge Hotel
Sat. June 20 — Brisbane, AU @ Against The Grain Festival
July — North America
Wed. July 8 — Toronto, ON @ Longboat Hall
Thu. July 9 — Detroit, MI @ Lager House
Fri. July 10 — Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Sat. July 11 — Minneapolis, MN @ Zhora Darling
Sun. July 12 — Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
Tue. July 14 — Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
Wed. July 15 — Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
Thu. July 16 — Washington, DC @ Songbyrd
Fri. July 17 — Ridgewood, NY @ TV Eye
Sat. July 18 — New York, NY @ Night Club 101
Sun. July 19 — Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
Tue. July 21 — Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
Wed. July 22 — Portland, ME @ Oxbow
Thu. July 23 — Brattleboro, VT @ Stone Church
Fri. July 24 — Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa
October/November — UK & Europe
Wed. Oct. 28 — Paris, FR @ Petit Bain
Thu. Oct. 29 — Rotterdam, NL @ Rotwown
Fri. Oct. 30 — Amsterdam, NL @ London Calling (Paradiso)
Sat. Oct. 31 — Antwerp, BE @ Trix
Mon. Nov. 2 — Bristol, UK @ Strange Brew
Tue. Nov. 3 — London, UK @ The Garage
Wed. Nov. 4 — York, UK @ The Crescent
Thu. Nov. 5 — Glasgow, UK @ Stereo
Fri. Nov. 6 — Newcastle upon Tyne, UK @ Brave Exhibitions (The Cluny)
Sat. Nov. 7 — Salford, UK @ The White Hotel
Tue. Nov. 10 — Berlin, DE @ Badehaus
Wed. Nov. 11 — Hamburg, DE @ Molotow
Fri. Nov. 13 — Gothenburg, SE @ Oceanen
Sat. Nov. 14 — Stockholm, SE @ Hus 7
Mon. Nov. 16 — Malmö, SE @ Plan B
Wed. Nov. 18 — Bredsten, DK @ Engelsholm Højskole
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