Canadian post-punk outfit Ought was one of the – if you like to use that label – ‘brightest’ dark stars in the international indie scene of the past decade so the news that they split up after nine years really is a bummer. However, since every end can also mark a new beginning that break-up also marks the beginning of Cola, a new project featuring former Ought members Tim Darcy and Ben Stidworthy along with U.S. Girls drummer Evan Cartwright. A certain simplicity seems to be the driving force behind Cola since the trio’s first sessions were really about stretching the possibilities of a pure drum, bass, guitar and vocal set-up. “Blank Curtain is a quarter note kick drum pushing 240 bpm, a drone-like chord progression, and declarative vocals cutting through the haze,” as the band explains their debut single. “If you could invert the color of the Blank Curtain, you might have something like a Chicago house track that sounds like a band in a room.” While I still have to look for that House music reference the song definitely is a gloomy and raw piece of oldfashioned independent rock and it definitely makes me excited about what’s next for them.