Deep In View - Cola: Review

Cola

is a Canadian post-punk act that follows in the footsteps of one of the most critically acclaimed indie acts of the 2010's, Ought. The band features the lead vocalist and bass player from Ought teaming up with the drummer from indie band U.S Girls. Deep In View is their debut album under the Cola name and follows five singles dating back to last year. 

Review By Lav:

I LOVE Ought. Across the 2010's they managed to drop three excellent albums which featured a number of the best indie songs you can find anywhere. I would have been extremely excited for a new Ought project and though they announced the project was no more as of last year, the fact that we got Cola in its place also really excited me. Unfortunately, the mixed bag of singles resulted in an inconsistent record, but I'm also happy to report there are still some excellent tracks here that follow in the footsteps of great Ought tunes.

Let's talk highlights first because the record had a few singles that grabbed me quickly. Blank Curtain was the lead single and opening track and it's grown on me. In fact I wish I had given it more attention last year because it deploys the same blend of slightly rustic indie rock and monotone vocals that have made so many Ought songs click. The real crown jewel of the singles is Water Table which starts off with an instrumental intro that feels mostly like a flex because the instrumentation is just wonderful. When Tim's vocals hover perfectly over the song he delivers some of the trademark paranoid warbling that makes him so recognizable as a vocalist. This song rules.

There are even more high points among the deep cuts starting with Met Resistance which is the loudest song on the record and it doesn't waste any time letting you know that. Like many tracks here it will start to feel wandering around the midpoint as the instrumental chugs away through refrains that aren't quite verses and aren't quite bridges. But this song makes it all worthwhile when it delivers a bright hook and later on a loud instrumental finale both of which I absolutely love. My favorite deep cut is the closing track Landers which is a really interesting spoken word finale to the record. It has a lot of great observational writing that occasionally focuses on seemingly irrelevant details and extrapolates them in a really interesting way. I also love the slinky almost jazz club style instrumentation to the track which gives the whole song an unmistakable swagger. 

There were three more singles from the record but I was a bit more mixed on them. It's a bouncy song with a surprising jangle to it, though the band isn't shy about randomly shifting style. The changing directions on the track has grown on me since I first heard it and I actually find it pretty endearing now. So Excited on the other hand plays it really straight on the verses to set up for a dramatic hook. But the hook fails to live up to the hype generated for it. Thankfully the instruments is exciting and the little snare kicks keep it lively throughout.  I'm also not head over heels for Degree even though I like the dreamier take on a guitar tone you'll get familiar with across the record. Even though it has a pretty short runtime it just feels like it is absolutely beating these sounds to death and save for a few lyrical refrains I find memorable, this isn't one of my favorite songs. 

At Pace is an okay deep cut on the first half despite it featuring much more prominent guitar work than a lot of the other songs here. The refrains have stuck with me even though I wouldn't call them instantly catchy. When all is said and done the relatively short runtime of the song means its in and out without a chance to think much about it. The record's weakest tracks show up on the second half starting with Gossamer which is brighter and more up-tempo than most of the other tracks here. While I like that it sounds so contrasting with the lyricism the real downfall of the song is that I'm not crazy about either the instrumental or vocal performances. I'm even less fond of Mint which sports a pretty strong instrumental presence but relies really heavily on two sharp drum hits to die it all together. They do get stale pretty quickly and there isn't anything else on the track that really grabs me in its place. 

Deep In View is decent and if this were a new band I'd mostly be focusing on their potential. But because of the connection to Ought I can't help but say this is a bit of a let down. Despite the fact that the band manages to reach some pretty high points there were deep cuts here that came off in a way I'd never have expected, boring. I guess it's better for the song to be filled out with boring songs than bad ones and since there are still a number of big highs in a relatively short tracklist I just have to take what the record is giving me. Out of context, I think post-punk fans should definitely give this one a shot if for nothing else the fact that you get to hear Tim Darcy sing. 6/10

Album Cover Review by Tyler Judson:

I really like this cover. I think it's a great way to incorporate text and abstract graphics. The way it makes your eyes move around the composition but also get lost in it is an amazing way to keep the viewer's eye glued to it. You'll always be drawn back to it because it's so distorted and you can't quite solve what's actually going on. The colors are nice and the red is light enough that it doesn't read as christmasy. Overall I think this is fun and dynamic album art. 9/10

For more indie check out my review of The Smile's A Light For Attracting Attention here