Cola, includes Ought members Tim Darcy and Ben Stidworthy and U.S. Girls/The Weather Station drummer Evan Cartwright. The trio released their debut LP Deep In View, via Fire Talk Records. 2023 saw Cola the release of a deluxe edition of their debut, and the release a track called “Keys Down If You Stay,” a live staple that hinted at a new direction for the band. Today, the trio have returned are returning with a new single, “Bitter Melon,” out now on Fire Talk. The single has been released as a flexi disc, and is accompanied by a zine that can be found in independent record stores.

Tim Darcy on “Bitter Melon”:

“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’ve released) where a person is up in the middle of the night studying ‘the gloss’–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.”

Cola Tour UK/European Tour Dates

May 8th – Hanover, DE @ Cafe Glocksee
May 9th – Rotterdam, NL @ V11
May 10th – Eindhoven, NL @ Altstadt
May 11th – Luxembourg @ Out Of The Crowd Festival
May 13th – Ramsgate, UK @ Ramsgate Music Hall
May 14th – Birkenhead, UK @ Future Yard
May 15th – Cardiff, UK @ CLWB IFOR BACH
May 17th – London, UK @ The George Tavern
May 18th – London, UK @ The George Tavern

Order “Bitter Melon” by Cola HERE