Cola sharpen their post-punk edges on Cost of Living Adjustment

Montreal trio Cola release Cost of Living Adjustment on 8 May via Fire Talk Records, their third album and a restless new entry in their post-punk catalogue. The band, featuring former Ought members Tim Darcy and Ben Stidworthy with drummer Evan Cartwright, have always worked in a space of nervous rhythms, angular guitars and dry lyrical observation.

This album follows Deep In View and The Gloss, but the pre-release material suggested a shift away from the tasteful minimalism that previously defined parts of their sound. Lead single Hedgesitting was described as one of their more maximalist moments, built from layered drums and a more deconstructed sense of momentum.

The album title also feels pointed. Cost of Living Adjustment sounds like a bureaucratic phrase, but inside a post-punk frame it becomes a statement about pressure, fatigue and trying to remain human inside systems that keep tightening.

The tracklist includes Hedgesitting, Fainting Spells, Haveluck Country, Satre-torial and Skywriter’s Sigh, all titles that fit the band’s mix of wit and unease.