In 2021, beloved Montreal post-punk band Ought broke up and lead vocalist Tim Darcy and bassist Ben Stidworthy formed Cola with US Girls drummer Evan Cartwright. The following year, they unveiled their debut album Deep In View. Last year, they shared “Keys Down If You Stay,” and today the trio is releasing the new song “Bitter Melon.”

“This one started with a demo brought in by Ben,” Darcy said in a statement. “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.”

The single is also available as a flexi disc, which comes with a zine. It can be found in independent record stores worldwide. Hear “Bitter Melon” below.

TOUR DATES:
05/09 – Rotterdam, NL @ V11
05/10 – Eindhoven, NL @ Alstadt
05/11 – Luxembourg @ Out of The Crowd Festival
05/14 – Birkenhead, UK @ Future Yard
05/15 – Cardiff, UK @ Clwb Ifor Bach
05/17 – London, UK @ The George Tavern
05/17 – London, UK @ The George Tavern