One of the more interesting bands coming out of Nashville are the combo calling themselves Los Colognes, they deliver a shimmering modern pop sound which owes a lot to artists from the 80’s.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Los Colognes
ALBUM: The Wave
LABEL: Big Deal Media/Thirty Tiger
YEAR: 2017
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Jay Rutherford – vocals, guitars * Gordon Persha – bass * Micah Hulscher – keyboards * Aaron ‘Morty’ Mortenson – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Sneakin Breadcrumbs * 02 Flying Apart * 03 Unspoken * 04 Molly B Good * 05 Forever In Between * 06 The White Whale * 07 Man Over Bored * 08 Hope Not Too Long * 09 A-ok * 10 Can You Remember
RATING: 90/100
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
One of the more interesting bands coming out of Nashville are the combo calling themselves Los Colognes. ‘The Wave’ is the band’s third album, after kicking their recording career off in 2013. I have to say, there’s not much of a Nashville sound emanating through the grooves with these guys.
That’s not surprising, as the key pairing of Rutherford and Mortenson moved to Titans City from the Windy City of Chicago back in 2012, and were originally called The Clones but had to drop it due to a name clash with some other band. The inspiration for ‘Colognes’ came from the Spanish word ‘Cojones’, which refers to a part of the male anatomy. No prizes for guessing.
The Songs
Los Colognes deliver a shimmering modern pop sound which owes a lot to artists from the 80’s. Think of Dire Straits (probably because of the lucid guitar work), Don Henley and other acts which were surfing the airwaves back in the big hair era.
They really do dial around the soundscape, and you’ll be able to pick out your comparisons, which no doubt will be different to mine. Some of you may have seen the video we put up for the song ‘Unspoken’ a few weeks back (it’s shown below as a reminder). It’s indicative of the band’s sound, as heard across the disc, but the video itself is very slinky and cool.
Check out the equally cruisy ‘Molly B Good’, on this one singer Jay Rutherford invokes the spirit of the late Gerry Rafferty. Actually when you think about it, the Rafferty similarity is attributable across the whole album. That being said, there are pockets of goodness to be everywhere.
From the Pink Floyd influenced ‘Man Over Bored’, to the upbeat and quirky ‘Flying Apart’ which has 80’s written all over it. The calming fluidity of ‘Sneakin Breadcrumbs’ and ‘A-OK’ shows the band can operate at this level of restraint, while ‘White Whale’ offers something a bit more pastoral.
In Summary
‘The Wave’ offers a bit of variety, but as mentioned, it’s that lucid guitar work from Rutherford which is the highlight throughout. Los Colognes provide an engaging listen, I reckon this is a road trip sort of album. Just let it spin while you’re out on that big drive. Los Colognes are out on tour (eastern USA) at the time of writing, so if you check their website for details, you might be able to catch them in a town near you.
Los Colognes on Video
Unspoken
