{"id":40075,"date":"2024-04-05T17:15:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T21:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=40075"},"modified":"2024-03-30T19:29:01","modified_gmt":"2024-03-30T23:29:01","slug":"cola-return-with-new-single-bitter-melon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=40075","title":{"rendered":"Cola return with new single \u2018Bitter Melon\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In 2022,\u00a0Cola\u00a0(a project from former\u00a0Ought\u00a0members\u00a0Tim Darcy\u00a0and\u00a0Ben Stidworthy\u00a0and\u00a0US Girls\/The Weather Station\u00a0drummer\u00a0Evan Cartwright), released their debut LP\u00a0\u2018Deep In View\u2019\u00a0via\u00a0Fire Talk Records. <em>Rolling Stone<\/em> named the band an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/firetalkrecs.us11.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=5694861394877ae40d1c9a32c&amp;id=edbc23f91b&amp;e=ebf8659a9b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Artist You Need To Know<\/a>\u00a0and called their debut &#8220;<em>one of the year\u2019s most thrilling rock statements,<\/em>&#8221; the album was one of the year&#8217;s most acclaimed debuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2023 saw the release of a deluxe edition of their debut, and the release of a track called <em><a href=\"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/cola-share-new-track-keys-down-if-you-stay\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Cola share new track \u2018Keys Down If You Stay\u2019\">Keys Down If You Stay<\/a><\/em>, a live staple that hinted at a new direction for the band.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cola have returned with a new single, <em>Bitter Melon<\/em>, out now via Fire Talk.\u00a0\u00a0Listen to <em>Bitter Melon<\/em> via YouTube below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KwfLNkIUfy4?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-CA&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Looser, and more exploratory than their debut, <em>Bitter Melon<\/em> shifts down into a hypnotic gear of repetition and polyrhythmic guitar fingering that evokes the more mystical side of krautrock or kosmische. It provides an intriguing suggestion of where the band might take the sound that was so lauded on their debut, maintaining their edge while giving themselves a little more room to breath.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Darcy says of the track:\u00a0<em>&#8220;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&#8217;ve released) where a person is up in the middle of the night studying &#8216;the gloss&#8217;&#8211;additional comments written in the margins of a book. In my mind the text was like the rind of a fruit surrounding something, maybe even written at an earlier point by the reader themselves. The motorik drums and chiming guitars are guided by the bass on this song, something not unusual for us but the bass really provides a compelling longform 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.&#8221;<\/em>The single has been released as a flexi disc, and is accompanied by a zine that can be found in independent record stores world wide.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can find a map of those record stores\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/firetalkrecs.us11.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=5694861394877ae40d1c9a32c&amp;id=c7e16dc1c7&amp;e=ebf8659a9b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And images of the zine\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/firetalkrecs.us11.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=5694861394877ae40d1c9a32c&amp;id=7b4231e8b5&amp;e=ebf8659a9b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The band have also announced a collection of European tour dates that will take place in the spring. Full details can be found below.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tour dates<\/strong><br>Wed. May 8th\u00a0&#8211; Hanover, DE @ Cafe Glocksee&#8220;`<br>Thu. May 9th\u00a0&#8211; Rotterdam, NL @ V11<br>Fri. May 10th\u00a0&#8211; Eindhoven, NL @ Altstadt<br>Sat. May 11th\u00a0&#8211; Luxembourg @ Out Of The Crowd Festival<br>Mon. May 13th\u00a0&#8211; Ramsgate, UK @ Ramsgate Music Hall<br>Tue. May 14th\u00a0&#8211; Birkenhead, UK @ Future Yard<br>Wed. May 15th\u00a0&#8211; Cardiff, UK @ CLWB IFOR BACH<br>Fri. May 17th\u00a0&#8211; London, UK @ The George Tavern<br>Sati.\u00a0May 18th\u00a0&#8211; London, UK @ The George Tavern<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>In 2022,\u00a0Cola\u00a0(a project from former\u00a0Ought\u00a0members\u00a0Tim Darcy\u00a0and\u00a0Ben Stidworthy\u00a0and\u00a0US Girls\/The Weather Station\u00a0drummer\u00a0Evan Cartwright), released their debut LP\u00a0\u2018Deep In View\u2019\u00a0via\u00a0Fire Talk Records. Rolling Stone named the band an\u00a0Artist <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=40075\" title=\"Cola return with new single \u2018Bitter Melon\u2019\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[22,23,25,28,30,1907],"tags":[11535,10578,1245],"class_list":["post-40075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guitar-rock","category-indie","category-live","category-music","category-new-release","category-news","tag-bitter-melon","tag-cola","tag-tour-dates"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/6D1F7AD3-1C6C-48C5-A87F-D48F3DB959E8.jpeg?fit=1100%2C825&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2B2TV-aqn","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":40387,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=40387","url_meta":{"origin":40075,"position":0},"title":"Cola annouce new album \u2018The Gloss\u2019 +  share \u2018Pallor Tricks\u2019","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"April 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"With roots in Montreal, the band\u00a0Cola\u00a0was formed by ex-Ought members\u00a0Tim Darcy\u00a0and\u00a0Ben Stidworthy. Evan Cartwright, an in-demand session musician and collaborator in Toronto\u2019s vibrant jazz\/experimental scene with acts such as U.S. Girls and The Weather Station, joined after their first practice in 2019.\u00a0 In 2022, Cola released their debut LP\u00a0\u2018Deep In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cola press photo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/31C5FFCC-6F75-4D68-A0C6-F06AF88BE9D4.jpeg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/31C5FFCC-6F75-4D68-A0C6-F06AF88BE9D4.jpeg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/31C5FFCC-6F75-4D68-A0C6-F06AF88BE9D4.jpeg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/31C5FFCC-6F75-4D68-A0C6-F06AF88BE9D4.jpeg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40556,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=40556","url_meta":{"origin":40075,"position":1},"title":"Cola share new single \u2018Albatross\u2019","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"May 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Last month\u00a0Cola, the band formed by ex-Ought members\u00a0Tim Darcy\u00a0and\u00a0Ben Stidworthy, and drummer\u00a0Evan Cartwright, announced their sophomore LP\u00a0\u2018The Gloss\u2019\u00a0(due out\u00a0June 14th\u00a0on\u00a0Fire Talk\u00a0and\u00a0Next Door Records\u00a0in Canada). The album is the follow up to their 2022\u00a0\u2018Deep In View\u2019\u00a0on\u00a0Fire Talk Records, an album that saw praise from outlets like Pitchfork, NPR, FADER,\u00a0Stereogum, Uproxx, Paste,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cola press photo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/8D98536E-EF55-4FDD-9F59-28E96B1CD301.jpeg?fit=1200%2C796&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/8D98536E-EF55-4FDD-9F59-28E96B1CD301.jpeg?fit=1200%2C796&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/8D98536E-EF55-4FDD-9F59-28E96B1CD301.jpeg?fit=1200%2C796&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/8D98536E-EF55-4FDD-9F59-28E96B1CD301.jpeg?fit=1200%2C796&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/8D98536E-EF55-4FDD-9F59-28E96B1CD301.jpeg?fit=1200%2C796&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39196,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=39196","url_meta":{"origin":40075,"position":2},"title":"Cola share new track \u2018Keys Down If You Stay\u2019","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"April 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Last year, Cola, the new project from former Ought members Tim Darcy and Ben Stidworthy and US Girls\/The Weather Station drummer Evan Cartwright, released their debut LP \u2018Deep In View\u2019 via Fire Talk Records. Earning praise from outlets like Pitchfork, NPR, FADER, Stereogum, Uproxx, Paste, BrooklynVegan, Consequence, Clash, NME and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cola press photo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/4FC2BA9B-8ECE-46D6-8A5C-81231E2688FC.jpeg?fit=1124%2C700&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/4FC2BA9B-8ECE-46D6-8A5C-81231E2688FC.jpeg?fit=1124%2C700&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/4FC2BA9B-8ECE-46D6-8A5C-81231E2688FC.jpeg?fit=1124%2C700&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/4FC2BA9B-8ECE-46D6-8A5C-81231E2688FC.jpeg?fit=1124%2C700&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/4FC2BA9B-8ECE-46D6-8A5C-81231E2688FC.jpeg?fit=1124%2C700&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37540,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=37540","url_meta":{"origin":40075,"position":3},"title":"Ought announce break up + Cola share debut single","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"November 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"After nearly 9 years as a band\u00a0and following three critically-acclaimed\u00a0full lengths, the Montreal post-punk group\u00a0Ought\u00a0have announced their break up via the band's\u00a0Instagram. You can read their full statement here:\u00a0\"We are no longer active as a band. When we started Ought in 2012 we had no greater aspirations than to play\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cola press photo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/7C52AA2E-626B-4C13-9FF7-85DE3CDE0EE8-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/7C52AA2E-626B-4C13-9FF7-85DE3CDE0EE8-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/7C52AA2E-626B-4C13-9FF7-85DE3CDE0EE8-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/7C52AA2E-626B-4C13-9FF7-85DE3CDE0EE8-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/7C52AA2E-626B-4C13-9FF7-85DE3CDE0EE8-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44452,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=44452","url_meta":{"origin":40075,"position":4},"title":"Cola announce new album\u00a0\u2018Cost of Living Adjustment\u2019","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"February 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Montreal trio\u00a0Cola\u00a0are back with details of their third album,\u00a0\u2018Cost of Living Adjustment,\u2019 landing May 8th via\u00a0Fire Talk Records. Alongside the announcement comes the album\u2019s lead single, Hedgesitting, paired with a beautifully understated video directed by Kristina Pedersen. If you\u2019ve been following Cola\u2019s evolution post-Ought, you already know the buzz is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cola press photo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_7176.jpeg?fit=1100%2C754&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_7176.jpeg?fit=1100%2C754&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_7176.jpeg?fit=1100%2C754&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_7176.jpeg?fit=1100%2C754&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_7176.jpeg?fit=1100%2C754&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42378,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=42378","url_meta":{"origin":40075,"position":5},"title":"Cola get medieval on new single \u2018Mendicant\u2019 &#8211; Whistles, pipes, and poetic weirdness","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"May 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Cola are back, and they\u2019ve brought some seriously unexpected flair with them. The Montreal-based trio - Tim Darcy (guitar\/vocals), Ben Stidworthy (bass\/uilleann pipes wizard), and Evan J Cartwright (drums) - just dropped a new track called\u00a0Mendicant, and it\u2019s a twisty, woodwind-laced journey into the mind of a modern-day beggar... or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cola press photo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_4496.jpeg?fit=1200%2C789&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_4496.jpeg?fit=1200%2C789&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_4496.jpeg?fit=1200%2C789&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_4496.jpeg?fit=1200%2C789&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_4496.jpeg?fit=1200%2C789&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40075"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40081,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40075\/revisions\/40081"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}