“Every end is a new beginning,” the old saying goes—the November 2021 end of Montreal’s Ought was the beginning of Cola, a new project featuring Ought’s Tim Darcy and Ben Stidworthy, and U.S. Girls/The Weather Station drummer Evan Cartwright. The trio signed to Fire Talk Records and released their debut single “Blank Curtain,” and now they’ve announced that there’s more where that came from: Fire Talk will release Cola’s debut album Deep in View on May 20, and new single “So Excited” is out now along with a music video.
“So Excited” is a worthy addition to the Ought and Cola canon, a subtly nervy art-rock shuffle that draws its energy from Stidworthy and Cartwright’s shift low end. Darcy’s muted guitar serves the groove without pulling focus from it, and his similarly subdued vocal underscores the disappointment at the song’s aching heart: “And if you are so excited / Then you are so invited / To take this stone and right it,” he croons, pointing out how our passions are often exploited—we dive headfirst into pursuits we expect will fulfill us, only to find ourselves “feeling bound up instead.”
“We would talk about this track as the ‘capstone’ of the Cola record,” recalls Darcy in a statement. “It was that song that we would warm up with and get tight on since it was one of the first to really come together, plus it’s fun to play. There are Cola songs of mine that predate this one but this was the one I was working on when Ben told me he was going to come back from grad school and we talked about jamming together. It clicked when we played it out with Evan and from there we decided to work on songs for a new project.”
“The first song Tim showed me, I had this special bassline which I had been playing at Ought soundchecks and was saving for the right moment,” adds Stidworthy. “It fit perfectly in the first phrase of the chorus and felt like it was a sign.”
Check out the “So Excited” video (dir. Camille Anais Semprez & Cedar Teionietathe Jocks), the details of Deep in View and Cola’s tour dates below. You can revisit our list of the 10 best Ought songs here.
Deep in View Tracklist:
01. Blank Curtain
02. So Excited
03. At Pace
04. Met Resistance
05. Degree
06. Water Table
07. Gossamer
08. Mint
09. Fulton Park
10. Landers
Deep in View Art:
Cola Tour Dates:
March
12 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
June
20 – Winooski, VT @ Monkey House
21 – Boston, MA @ Sonia’s
22 – Kingston, NY @ Tubby’s
23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
25 – Washington, DC @ DC9
27 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle (Back Room)
28 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
29 – Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR
July
01 – Dallas, TX @ Ruins
02 – Austin, TX @ The Parish
05 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge
06 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
07 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
08 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
10 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
11 – Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore
12 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
14 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
16 – Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
18 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
19 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry
20 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
22 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Bag
August
20 – Crickhowell, UK @ Green Man Festival
23 – Brighton, UK @ Prince Albert
24 – London, UK @ Moth Club
25 – Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds
26 – Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade Bristol
27 – Birkenhead, UK @ Future Yard
28 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
30 – Edinburgh, UK @ Sneaky Pete’s
31 – Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast
September
01 – Newcastle UK @ The Cluny 2
02 – Nottingham, UK @ Rough Trade
03 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Psych Fest (Yes)
04 – Salisbury, UK @ End of the Road Festival
