Cola On Their New Album ‘Cost Of Living Adjustment’

Photo by Kristina Pedersen

Ever since emerging from the aftermath of Ought in 2021, Cola have built a sound defined by restraint, tension, and emotional precision. The Montreal trio – vocalist and guitarist Tim Darcy, bassist Ben Stidworthy, and drummer Evan Cartwright – make music that feels deceptively minimal on the surface, yet deeply immersive underneath. Across Deep in View and The Gloss, they refined that balance into something distinct: wiry post-punk threaded with warmth, subtle melodicism, and an instinctive sense of space.

Their latest record, Cost Of Living Adjustment (C.O.L.A.), pushes those instincts further than ever before. Written collaboratively across Montreal and Toronto before being shaped together in the studio, the album expands the band’s palette without losing the intimacy at its core. Songs like ‘Hedgesitting’ and ‘Favoured Over The Ride’ feel lush and emotionally exposed, reflecting themes of home, aging, displacement, friendship, and the strange clarity that can emerge after upheaval.

Ahead of their first Australia tour this June before a packed run across North America and Europe later this year, Darcy spoke about rediscovering joy after Ought, the trust at the centre of Cola’s writing process, and why sometimes the most powerful thing a song can do is hold back.

Cola emerged after the end of Ought. Did starting this project feel like a fresh beginning creatively, or more like a natural continuation?

It definitely felt like a new project because Ben and I had different aspirations going into it. We’d toured so heavily with Ought that when the band ended, I genuinely didn’t know what was next for me creatively or personally. At first, Cola was really just about rediscovering the joy of playing music with other people again, without putting too much pressure on it. Once our drummer and friend Evan got involved, things snowballed quickly and we realised we should make a record.

Your new self-titled record C.O.L.A. has been described as your most “maximalist” release yet. What pushed you towards expanding the sound this time around?

We gave ourselves permission to stretch out more on this record. We spent two weeks recording in a friend’s humble studio before doing another two in the studio where we’d made all three records, and that extra time really opened things up creatively.

I approached guitar differently this time too – on the second record it was basically straight into the amp, very Kinks-style. With this album, I wanted to keep things fresh and lean into more melodicism vocally. These warmer guitar textures just felt right for the songs.

Photo by Kristina Pedersen

Your writing process seems deeply collaborative, with songs often beginning separately before coming together in the studio. What do you enjoy most about working that way?

It’s energising because it gets me out of my own head. I really admire the people I’m in a band with and how they approach melody, chord voicings and structure in ways I never would. There’s a lot of trust between us, so if one person brings in an idea, someone else will usually find a way to expand or transform it.

As the lyricist, I feel lucky to have that trust from them too. Sometimes I’ll take a demo away and try to find lyrics or melodies that unlock something deeper in it. It’s an intimate collaboration, but it also makes writing easier and more exciting because all three of us are constantly contributing. We even have Friday deadlines where everyone has to send something in, even if it’s just a riff.

A lot of Cola’s music balances subtlety with intensity. How do you approach creating tension and atmosphere without overcrowding a song?

I think we’re all very aligned in our willingness to carve things away if it serves the music. We’re not minimal for minimalism’s sake, but we do have a rule that the song should feel complete with just the three of us playing it. That means we’re always ready to lose parts or simplify things. On ‘Haveluck Country,’ for example, I’m mostly playing one chord the entire time, which leaves space for Ben’s bass to become the focal point. That restraint also creates room for a different kind of vocal presence.

Evan’s a trained jazz drummer and the restraint he shows is incredible – honestly, it feels like he uses about 10% of his ability in this band, and we’re very lucky for that.

Would you then say that you like having a focal point in each song similar to ‘Haveluck Country?’

Not necessarily. It’s more like a sliding scale. Sometimes the focus shifts heavily toward bass or vocals, and other times everyone’s contributing equally.

A song like ‘Much of a Muchness’ is much denser and everyone’s playing with more complexity and different elements come in and out of focus. It really depends on what the song wants.

Tracks like ‘Hedgesitting’ and ‘Favoured Over The Ride’ feel very layered emotionally and sonically. What kinds of ideas or feelings were shaping the album as a whole?

‘Favoured Over The Ride’ was one of the first songs we finished, while ‘Hedgesitting’ came right at the end. A year before that record was made, my partner and I experienced a house fire, which deeply affected the emotional landscape. 

A lot of the album revolves around ideas of home – politically, in terms of cost of living, but also more intimately through security, relationships and stability. There’s also a thread of ageing and reassessing your life, especially on ‘Hedgesitting.’

At the same time, I was watching close friends move through huge life changes with Ben welcoming a second child, Evan getting married, and feeling this warmth in seeing people continue making art while growing older together. I think lyrically I wanted to lean more into feeling on this record, and be a little less knotty or intellectual.

I’ve been around the block a few more times now. I feel more settled in myself. 

You’re about to head out on your biggest run of touring yet across Australia, North America, and Europe. How are you feeling heading into such a massive stretch of shows together?

At this point touring feels somewhat built into our lives since you put out a record and suddenly you’re doing three or four tours a year. Australia is completely new for us, so we’re especially excited for that. I’m really looking forward to places like Wollongong and Castlemaine.

People always talk about the bugs and spiders, but I’m actually pro-spider now. A friend once told me about calmly sitting with a wolf spider near a hot spring instead of panicking, and I found that really inspiring. It shifted my perspective toward curiosity rather than fear.

Photo by Kristina Pedersen

Your biggest listenership is spread across cities like London, Chicago, and Toronto. Does it surprise you where the music connects most?

Constantly. We recently did an interview with a radio station in Panama, and it turned out the host had been playing all three of our records for years. Apparently we have a fanbase there because of them.

Moments like that are really humbling as you just realise your music somehow travelled that far and connected with people you’ve never met.

Would you say you prefer the writing and creation of the song or the actual performances of them?

Writing is the steadier pleasure. Touring gives you the highest highs and the lowest lows. Being away from home can be difficult, but the shows themselves are such powerful moments of connection, especially when people know the songs and sing along.

That’s always the reminder of why we do it. London has consistently given me some of my favourite shows, even dating back to Ought, so we’re really excited to return.

What are your future plans as a band? 

We actually had a lot of extra material left over from this record, so we’ve talked about maybe doing an EP and finishing some of those songs but we’re trying not to get ahead of ourselves.

What’s most important is that we still genuinely love creating together. I think we’ve found a nice balance between having a strong core identity while still reaching for something new sonically. That tension keeps it exciting.

We’d also love to tour Japan and Eastern Europe.

And maybe tour Panama?

Absolutely.   

Listen to Cola on SoundCloud, Apple Music, and Spotify.

Keep up to date with them via Instagram and their website.