Photo by Amy Fort

The speed of sound can not only change how a song sounds, but how it makes you feel, depending on which direction it’s going in. And no, before you think of it, this isn’t about slowcore or hardcore music (though both of those genres have certainly perfected emotional elements in relation to them.) This is about Cola, the post-punk trio who aren’t about nervous jitters or anxious fits like so many in their peers in that corner of rock are. On “Albatross”, the latest single from their sophomore album, The Gloss, they’re rethinking physics by tinkering around with weight on the mental scale and how it can pull back the mind’s ability to move forward — especially when that something insurmountable standing in its way is the self. “I prefer to work without a guide / But I wont count tonight,” Tim Darcy refutes outside input on the horse race, and instead, opts to spill himself all over the floor in metaphorical martyr form. The accentuation on repetition becomes a thing of fixation, and the denial of accountability has a way of carrying on sluggishly. A horse can only be as fast as its trainer, and here, it’s to the point of being held back by obsessing over the details. Still, it’s fascinating to hear play out when moving in slow-motion.

Directed by: Max Farrell

Cola’s The Gloss will be released June 14th on Fire Talk.