icon

COLA | Dinner Party 

a thank you from cola: first and foremost, i would like to thank each and every artist who agreed to be on this mixtape to help me celebrate my birthday! it's fun, eclectic, a lot of it is stupid - and so it's exactly like a party with my friends. i was sad and scared to turn twenty three (i made a song about that too) but having this project to work on has been a total blast and getting my friends in the studio to make fun pop music with me has been the best extended birthday party a boy could ask for! i hope you all enjoy my dinner party. i've been up all day cooking for you little twerps, so you better not leave any leftovers ♡

tracklist

i. End Of The World (prod. S3T) ii. L.C.S (feat. Melo and Aftershock's Ty) | LINE DISTRIBUTION iii. Hex Girls (feat. Paris and Creep's Luxe) | LINE DISTRIBUTION iv. We Appreciate Power (feat. Aimi) | LINE DISTRIBUTION v. Burger Shop (prod. Minace) vi. Final Boss (feat. Hatsune Miku) | LINE DISTRIBUTION vii. Rain On Me (feat. Jelly) | LINE DISTRIBUTION viii. Dance All Night (feat. Panthera's Kio) | LINE DISTRIBUTION ix. Sour Candy (feat. Aftershock) | LINE DISTRIBUTION x. Dinner Party (prod. CODE:R)

COLA | Sad, Blonde, Twenty-Three

the landscape of cola’s music has often been vibrant. dizzying synths, serenading vocoders, eighties-style drum machines pounding introductions to richly produced pop music. though cola rarely shies away from vulnerability; and has catalogued a fair few ballads in his time; they’re usually swathed in theatrics; orchestrated in strings and underwater synths; perpetuating the idea of cola; a fantasy character, cory osada’s life told through the allegory of a projected starlet; as much marilyn as it is britney as it is hyuna.

‘sad, blonde, twenty-three’ sees cola stripped back in a way he hasn’t been since 2015′s ‘sunday morning.’ in july, cola translated the hardest year of his career into sparkling, optimistic synth-pop. here, he includes no bell nor whistle as he laments, first, on the end of his first relationship; a topic he alluded to while discussing the tracks of ‘cory.’ however, the song soon opens up onto a broader topic; as cola sings of what it feels like to be discarded. ‘'the truth is i am a toy that people enjoy, till all of the tricks don't work anymore, and then they are bored of me.' cola sings in the second verse. 

accompanied by little but a live piano; cola allows all the flaws to stay, abandoning the gloss of his usual style. from cracks in his voice to the lazy, drunken lull of the piano, ‘sad, blonde, twenty-three’ is a raw, exposed nerve. "not only am i a celebrity,” cola says of the song, “which means that to be around me, there is a slight sacrifice of privacy and normality; but ever since i was a kid, i’ve always been... y’know, the weird friend. i feel like people enjoy me, they love me because i’m funny, and when i was younger they loved me cause i partied hard and had no fear. and then, almost without fail, i watch my own novelty wear off. and then they leave.”

in the building urgency in the second verse, the piano finds harmony in a hint of an organ. calling back to the current of christian imagery running through cola’s music and visual world; the song briefly sees a unity between cory osada and cola. where cory’s personal relationships see people taking their fill and leaving when they grow tired of him; cola’s presence in the industry could arguably see a similar parasitic relationship. cola gives wholeheartedly, the industry consumes, and then beats him down again.

“ultimately, though this song came from me feeling sad about the people in my life and how little they seem to stick around, it’s not devoid of the hope i sing about on ‘cory.’” cola assures. “ultimately, i’ll always have myself. that’s what the first half and the end of the song is about. i don’t want to need to rely on other people loving me to be happy. i’ve still got me.”

An open letter.

The reception to cory. has been so overwhelmingly wonderful. I’m so glad it’s resonated with so many of you; and I’m so thankful for the level of support you guys have given me- not only with this record, but with them all. I’ve built up such a solid, loyal, amazing fanbase that I wouldn’t trade for the world. And since I feel comfortable with you all, I do feel able to speak up about certain things that for a long time; I’ve kept to myself- either because I’m scared of more powerful people than me getting mad, or because I didn’t want to come across as ungrateful for all the amazing opportunities I’ve been given. 

The past seven years have been really fun, but they’ve also been really difficult. Unlike a lot of people in this industry; this was never my childhood dream. It’s my dream now, but it’s not something I was passionate about until after I’d already made my debut. The virality of tbh tho,,, was kind of a freak accident; and ever since millions more people heard that song than intended, I’ve faced a lot of backlash and negativity. And it’s been really, really mentally draining. 

In seven years, I’ve faced two big record labels plagiarising demos I sent them and refusing to credit/pay me (with expensive and corrupt lawyers that I can’t afford to compete with.) I’ve faced threats of violence and death; when I was 15 years old a grown man released a ‘diss track’ about me in which he spent a minute detailing in gruesome detail how he would torture and murder me. And since he was a “horrorcore” artist, this was handwaved off as par by the course and I was called a pussy for not responding. I was a child. I’ve had producers laugh in my face when I reached out to collaborate; and I’ve had directors tell me to my face that I’m a good actor but nobody would want to come and see their film if they put me in it, because I’m just “not likeable.” And last year, when I had finally managed to build up some good will, had finally earned myself some respect in the industry, more powerful men than me saw to it that my album was banned and unpromotable; and as a result, directly fucked with my bag. 

I’d like to remind you all that my only crime was that I was kind of a weak rapper when I was fifteen, and as a result my song became a meme. Since that song came out, I’ve broken my back a thousand times bending over to prove myself as a talented songwriter, a damn good singer, a decent actor. I’ve diligently practised and studied and made leaps and bounds of improvement in rap. I’ve given some real big artists their first ever hit song, and I’ve written over one hundred of my own songs, produced a good half of those. And yet still, because of one questionable song- one questionable song that I wrote as a joke and only uploaded to make my friends laugh, that was never, ever supposed to garner the attention that it did- because of that song, I have been deemed the premium acceptable target for bullying. The constant hate comments and harassment, false rumours and threats I’ve received have pushed me to the brink several times over. They’ve left me feeling like I didn’t belong in this world, and for a large portion of the past seven years, they’ve left me wanting to take myself out of it. And this is not just an online issue. Those with power in this industry have purposefully abused their power to keep me small, to use my talent for themselves and squash me before I got big enough to threaten more palatable, less loudmouthed artists. 

Over the last few months, I’ve done something this industry has fearfully hoped I never would. I’ve learned my worth.

To those who leave hate comments; I thoroughly believe anybody online has every right to hate my music and criticise it, and I don’t particularly care if you find me ugly- but I will be taking legal action against the particularly vitriolic comments which are threats towards my safety and life. I do not want to police your freedom of expression, but I do ask that you consider the consequences of your words. I ask that you prioritise my, and any other artist you may wish to post hateful comments about, mental health over your own vapid and narcissistic desperation for likes and retweets. Ask yourself if it’s worth the consequences it has on our spirits. To the major record labels who have made fortunes off of my writing and intimidated me into silence, I will be pursuing legal action if I am not paid my dues. For the first time in my career (though many have their doubts) I’m playing the rich parents card. With the help of my family, I no longer fear standing up against you in court and demanding what I’m owed. 

I’m no longer going to mope around in silence, crying over an unfair industry.

I will be treated like a human being.

COLA | cory.

If there has been one thing to stand out about Cory Osada, best known by the moniker Cola, it’s his tenacity. From the beginning of his roller-coaster career, Cola has met controversy, hate and hyperscrutiny largely with witty retorts and a self-assured insistence on keeping forward. Cola has grown up in the public eye, evolved from a precocious teenager mumble-rapping love songs in his bedroom to an international pop star, with over a hundred song-writing credits to his name and a kingdom of his own in form of Chapel Records, a label collecting the misfits of the Korean pop industry and giving them their deserved platforms. Many love Cola, many hate him; but one can not imply he hasn’t put the work in- from his debut album in 2015, he’s put out a full-length record every year since- until 2020. 

“2019 was the best year of my life until it wasn’t.” Cola said in an interview earlier in the year. And it certainly did seem like everything had finally come up Cola. He Has been nominated for Best Male Soloist at MAMA 2019- his first ever nomination, and his pre-singles for his fifth full album were skyrocketing up the charts. The fifth record, ‘Richer Than God & Twice As Pretty,’ was all set to be his third in a row to score a number one on the charts- Until, almost immediately after it’s release, 10 out of 12 tracks eligible for single release were banned from radio and broadcast with no option for alteration- and for reasons largely considered vapid by fans and the general public alike. And unlike previous instances of controversy, Cola had no smirk for the cameras, no wink nor nudge. Cola’s TV appearances to promote the record were brief and his spirits appeared broken, and he publicly wrote a message online to state that he was on the verge of giving up completely. His angry performance at MAMA later in the year was only punctuated by his loss of the award. Cola looked, and would later describe feeling, like he had finally been defeated by the industry that seemed so against letting his hard work and undeniable talent be rewarded.  

And so, come July 2020, after dedicating the first half of the year to the star’s push into acting and directly following his performance of a bombastic 33-song setlist at Lost Land 9 times over three weekends, Cola has once more pushed against convention as he drops his sixth record and first ever mini-album, simply titled ‘cory.’

‘cory.’ contains five songs, including the track ‘La Vie En Rose’ which had been made available on streaming services ahead of his festival tenancy, and ‘So That’s Where Your Face Went,’ which was performed as untitled throughout his set list. However, despite the EP dropping in the wake of the most public dark patch in the young singer’s career, ‘cory.’ carries a largely hopeful overtone; ‘I Got Hope (Cause Yesterday Is All Over)’ dares to look at the future as it celebrates what is perhaps Cola’s biggest personal strength- his ability to stand up, dust himself off, and keep going. 

Cola will not be promoting ‘cory.’, and no single from it have been sent to radio. “I wrote it for myself,” said Cola. “Because I needed to remember that this entire career I have started cause I just love to write music. It’s really, really fun. And it’s gotten me through a lot tougher things than what I’m going through right now. And I wasn’t going to put this record out, cause it was just... therapy? But performing at Lost Land, I saw kids in the crowd crying as they sang along to my songs. And I think, more than any award or number one single, that validated me. And then, I dunno. I guess I remembered who the fuck I am.” 

tracklist

i. La Vie en Rose ii. So That’s Where Your Face Went iii. Dreamlove iv. Waltz v. I Got Hope (Cause Yesterday Is All Over)

EXCLUSIVE: Cola gives a track-by-track explanation of cory.

LA VIE EN ROSE

La Vie En Rose was the first song I wrote out of the five on this EP, and I knew straight away that it had to be the sort of... intro to the record? I’ve recently had a huge episode of poor mental health, and that was worsened by both the way that my last record, Richer Than God, was... kind of sabotaged by people with more power than me. But on top of that, I also saw the end of my first real serious relationship. The negative side of experiencing the type of, like... intense, meaningful, love- the kind of love where you’re like “Okay, I thought I had but I’ve definitely never been in love before this” is when it all comes to an end, and then you have to realise “okay, I thought I had but I’ve definitely never fucking had my heart broken like this.” And so I was in a really dark place, where every day I’d wake up and before I opened my eyes, my first thought was that my heart was broken. And so I think I wrote La Vie En Rose in response to how low I was feeling, because it’s such a peaceful song. La Vie En Rose translates to The Life In Pink, which is a very Me phrase, but it’s also a saying similar to “looking through Rose-coloured glasses.” The lyrics reference that idiom, because I think above anything else, La Vie En Rose is a song about choosing to look on the bright side. It’s not as easy as just choosing to be happy, but wanting to recover is the only way you can start recovering. In the bridge, there’s a line about “crafting my new armour.” Ive grown up in the media, and so I definitely built up a tolerance to negativity. But for some reason, the Bans from last year really, really hurt me. They wounded my spirit, and for a while I was ready to just throw the towel in, especially as it sparked up all the old accusations of noise-marketing and doing things for shock value. It’s only been seven months. I needed some time to breathe and let myself feel what I was feeling and figure out how I deal with it this time.

SO THAT’S WHERE YOUR FACE WENT

This is a difficult one. So That’s Where Your Face Went just kind of happened, as a song. I think I came up with the melody of the hook in the car, and I just started singing “It’ll pass, chill. Stay alive, it kills.” This was the last song I wrote for the record, and it almost wasn’t going to be on it because I didn’t think I’d finish it in time. I think I was very influenced by the character I played in the drama True Beauty. I saw a lot of myself in that character, which is a really difficult thing to feel considering how his storyline ended. And so I think a lot of this song is complicated emotions. I’m definitely singing to myself up until the last little outro. But I think like... to sum it up, the song is strange and weird and I don’t really know how to explain it succinctly, but it’s ultimately about being in a shitty and scary situation and dealing with that in unhealthy ways.

DREAMLOVE

Dreamlove is definitely one of the sweetest melodies I’ve ever written. More than anything, it’s about the honeymoon phase of a new relationship. I’m not in a new relationship, and actually, I’m currently getting over a breakup of a long term one. But it’s more of a metaphor of where I’m at in life now. I think Richer Than God and everything that came from that, for better or worse, marked a turning point in my life for me. It’s been a really rough few months ever since, but I’m at at the start of a new chapter and I’m excited, which is why I wanted to write a honeymoon phase song. I had my first heartbreak but it’s healing now, and I’m pretty excited about the future. Even if things inevitably get hard again, I’m enjoying feeling hopeful.

WALTZ

Waltz is an escapism song. It’s kind of similar in sentiment to my song “Barbie Jeep Getaway.” It’s about just wanting to run away and separate myself from everything going on around me. I think I’ve been craving that more than ever. I promised myself a break after what happened with my last album, but then while I guess I gave myself a break from music, I totally worked the entire time. Waltz was kind of this... wish fulfilment that I could just run away and not look back for a while, because I don’t feel good enough and want to be relieved of that pressure, at least for a little while. “I just wanna waltz around it, then it never hurts” is kind of the attitude I’ve had to all the negativity I’ve had to face in my career. I haven’t really given myself a breathe to deal with it, and last year a straw broke the back on that camel. Laughing it all off and basing my image around how much I don’t care about what people think of me may make me look really cool, but it doesn’t do much for my mental health.

I GOT HOPE (CAUSE YESTERDAY IS ALL OVER)

Firstly, this story will run in April, so happy belated 7th anniversary! How does it feel to celebrate seven years in the industry?

Thank you. It feels... it’s very conflicting. But ultimately, I’m happy. I never would have imagined I’d be around this long. 

You’ve released an album a year for five years in a row. Can we expect a sixth on the horizon?

You cannot.

Why the break in tradition?

Well, from a mental health perspective, making a tradition of putting out a full length album every year is really stupid. I have over a hundred songs and I wrote them all myself, bar guest rappers writing their own verses. So much work goes into the writing and recording, and so much work goes into promotion. I’ve done it exhaustively for seven years, and I’d like to chill out for a little longer before I do it again. 

I think you can safely say you’ve earned that break.

Honestly, I’d consider a rookie artist who just wrapped promoting their first record as deserving of this break. 

So, what does Cola look like on hiatus?

Me, but with glasses on. Also, have you ever seen the show Friends? I look like Monica from Friends. On steroids. I’ll be shooting a TV show soon, which I’m grateful for. Turns out free time just makes me neurotic. 

Last year, you were vocal about your anger when 10 of the songs from Richer Than God & Twice As Pretty were banned, and much of the internet agreed that the reasoning seemed unfair. Has time eased your upset on the matter?

No. I’m sure I’m supposed to answer this question with a yes, but it really hasn’t. It sent me on a massive downward spiral that I think now, four months later, I’m really only just starting to stand back up from. I’m sure I won’t make any friends by saying this, but it really felt spiteful. I’ve had songs banned in the past and I’ve been expecting it, and I’ve understood the reasons; and there were some songs on Richer Than God I knew would be banned.  But 10? It felt spiteful. 

Is the push into acting and hiatus from music a direct response to those bans?

Yes, and no. I think they were the spark that started the fire, but I’d already like... gathered all the firewood. Like you said, it’s been seven years. Anybody would want to try something new. 

Finally, what should we most be looking forward to about your upcoming show Frontline? 

COLA STUNS WITH AERIAL SILKS PERFORMANCE OF ‘JUICE’ @ MAMA 2019, FACES CRITICISM FOR DECISION TO PERFORM  ‘FAR LESS GRACE.’

k-pop fans all over the world tuned into the mnet asian music awards tonight to watch their favourite artists' performances and route for their bias to take home the trophy- and while cola's heathers may have been dissapointed that his nomination for best male artist didn't result in a win, the sleepy starlet certainly gave the audience something to talk about.

as this was the singer's first performance at mama, high theatrics were expected from many, especially given cola's penchant for impressive stage visuals. banned from performing the vast majority of his most recent album, it was expected by many that cola would perform 'juice,' the title track of the album 'russian doll' - and when his stage theme was revealed to be entitled 'cherry cola,' it was a no-brainer. while the song choice was unsurprising, cola shocked the audience by delivering a stunningly beautiful aerial silks routine to the first quarter of the song. cola's experience with aerial acrobatics it's no surprise to true fans, as he has previously utilised an aerial hoop for performances of his track 'jungle book,' however fans and fellow idols alike were still left awestruck as cola gracefully danced through the air, secured only by shimmering fabrics, until he delicately descended back down to earth in time for the second chorus. not least arresting was the singer's revealing choice of outfit- a pair of blue jeans and a glittered up bare torso. after singing the sickly, sultry hook of the megapopular synthpop track, the lights cut out. after a few moments in darkness, a soft light lit the stage once more, cola sat cross legged in the center, his body swathed in the holographic silks he had danced upon like blankets. from his spot on the floor, cola sang the track 'far less grace,' a track filled with haunting anger, centered around cola's fear of the state of the human race. stripped back from all of his usual bells and whistles, cola did not move a muscle throughout the entire four minutes and sixteen seconds of the song, letting the weight of the lyrics sink in- and they feel more unsettlingly relevant than ever, with the scorning lyrics centering around troubling issues such as corruption and rape culture.

while many viewers coveted the beauty and elegance of cola's performance of 'juice,' many critisised the inclusion of 'far less grace,' accusing the serious nature of the song to be innapropriate for a celebratory event- although a smaller population have praised him for using his time on a widely viewed platform to bring attention to serious issues in today's culture. at any rate, the breathtaking acrobatics are sure to become a historical event in the young star's career.

COLA PLAYS A STUNNING SOLO SET AND JOINS LUKE, PENNY OF 5OGUE, FERRIS & ALAIN OF LUNE TO COVER 𝗖𝗔𝗡'𝗧 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗞 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗛 BY 𝗚𝗜𝗥𝗟𝗦 𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗗 @ 𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐃 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟗.

today, cola was one of a legion of artists to join spiced on stage for their annual charity concert! the intent of the show was to raise funds in aid of the elderly poverty crisis ongoing in korea. amongst a star-studded lineup, cola first took the stage late in the show, a special cover of the uk girl group girls aloud's track 'can't speak french.' cola joined labelmate luke and previous collaborator, 5ogue's penny, as well as actor/model ferris, and lune member alain to give a sultry performance of the troubled love song.

in the final quarter of the show, cola emerged once more to deliver a four-song set, finally able to perform songs from his new album, 'richer than god and twice as pretty', ten tracks from which had been strictly banned from broadcast upon the album's release. kicking things off with the high octane energy of 'call me mom,' cola also showcased an acoustic version of pop-rock ballad '11:11,' and finally getting to reveal the official choreography for the doomed intended title-track 'the craft.' rounding things out, cola bid farewell to the crowd with fan favourite 'sonic adventure 2.'

it was also revealed that chapel records, the label to which cola is the founder and figurehead, made their own donation to spiced's cause- however, the company declined comment on details, claiming it to be a private affair.

COLA FORCED TO CANCEL FIRST FEW COMEBACK STAGES ATER 10 OF 15 SONGS FROM HIS NEW ALBUM ARE DEEMED UNFIT FOR BROADCAST.

cola is no stranger to controversy; several of the singer’s songs and videos have been banned in the past for various reasons. however, his fifth album richer than god & twice as pretty, which dropped yesterday, has scored him a record breaking 11/15 tracks deemed unsuitable for broadcast. the reasoning behind each ban was released earlier today:

s.u.p.e.r - promotion of drug use, reference to adult entertainment

stainless steel - promotion of drug use

back on my bullshit - reference to adult entertainment, reference to fetish and/or sexual deviancy, homoeroticism

call me mom - promotion of opposing law enforcement

anime eyes - use of brand names (newport cigarettes)

mommy’s busy - reference to fetish and/or sexual deviancy, homoeroticism

jhin & juice - homoeroticism

i have a ritaline prescription - promotion of drug use

wanna medal for it? - threatening language

the craft - threatening language

fans will notice that this list includes the title track of the album, ‘the craft’, and leaves the singer with only five remaining songs; two of which are interludes and ‘coney island 2′ being an outro which interpolates one of cola’s earliest songs. removing those, cola is given the option of performing either 11:11 or sonic adventure 2 on music shows- the latter of which is now a two year old song. in response to this, a representative of chapel expressed that cola has ‘begrudgingly’ postponed the beginning of the album’s promotional cycle in order to decide how to move forward, as well as to give him time to rehearse new stages. chapel’s spokesperson also assured that cola is incredibly sorry to the fans who were looking forward to seeing him, as well as state that the singer is ‘absolutely outraged at the handling of the situation, especially as no option to censor or alter his lyrics were given, instead a hard no to broadcasting the majority of his album.’

COLA | C5: RICHER THAN GOD & TWICE AS PRETTY

“my albums are all different colours,” cory osada, best known as cola, once said. “i pick a colour and i build a record around it.”

according to the teen-rapper turned young-adult-superstar, his debut effort pretty everlasting is green. f5abb5, album number two, is the exact shade of pink it’s title references the hex code to. the tertiary icon is the colour of a rose gold iphone, and this spring’s russian doll is redder than coke cans. so where does that leave his new release richer than god & twice as pretty? well, we asked.

“it’s a mood ring under a strobe light.” he told us. 

 the title is blasphemy to such a ridiculous degree that it cannot truly be taken as offensive, it’s fifteen tracks of unrelenting synthpop marked with sleepy time vocals and bratty rap segments. the lyrics are truthful, funny and often sad. it’s the cola persona dialled up to 11 for the first time in years, and as cola said, it’s an album to party to. tracks such as ‘call me mom’, ‘mommy’s busy’, ‘back on my bullshit’ and title track ‘the craft’ push that aspect to the forefront, with masterfully crafted dance beats (if cola has shown anything in his six year career, it’s that he knows how to create a great pop song.)  and self-assured, witty lyrics. the lyrical matter finds it’s footing in the nightlife of seoul, the backdrop of much of cola’s musical canon, and indeed the backdrop of much of the life he’s shown us; cola came up through the clubs, and now he is writing love letters to them. 

“there’s always been a story.” cola says. “all four main albums, i’ve always been telling some kind of story, there’s always like... an overarching theme. and russian doll was addressing some really personal, scary, deep-rooted things. i got it all out of my system, and when i was singing songs from it, i started to think of the version of me i was writing them about, this like... sixteen year old kid, covered head to toE in glitter and baggy t-shirts, performing in clubs he’s too young to be in and looking for the shoes he’d refused to perform in, and i was like, y’know what? i’m gonna give that kid a comeback. i’m gonna make the record he would have made if he had the resources i have now.” 

title track ‘the craft’ is textbook cola, by now- the dance-synth pounds as he pokes fun at his naysayers, the 90′s movie reference provided a wink of context  by the black magic motif of the lyrics. ‘i wanna feel bad but i’m so great at it that i don’t feel much’ he taunts after a warning shot of a verse, a formal caution to keep cola’s name out of your mouth. the thesis of richer than god & twice as pretty is summed up best in the first bar of his rap segment, however, ‘big boy boutta turn 23, & since sixteen it’s been a real ass whirlwind / it’s been rough, but i work with it, cause i’m tough, fit, a renaissance bitch’

the throwback aspect provides power to tracks ‘breathe in’ and ‘sonic adventure 2′, the former comforts it’s listener in guided meditation, structured to hit after a soft, video-game-esque musical interlude (dedicated to the star’s recently deceased beloved pet rats) that succeeds ‘i have a ritalin prescription’, a frantic party song that apexes on cola singing out a panic attack as he seeks his meds. ‘you know you got it’ cola whispers to his young self on ‘breathe in’; ‘ima summon up the power in you.’ meanwhile, ‘sonic adventure 2′, a self-referential fan-favourite anthem, teasingly samples cola’s debut song ‘tbh tho,,,’ as quick as the lyrics request ‘i got a past, do we really gotta bring it up?”

‘11:11′ seems to bring us to cola today, age twenty two, singing dreamily of a new romance- and in a few ways, the ingenue-sweet love lyrics seem more familiar to the feeling of first listening to cola back in 2013 than the album’s memoir. backed by a romantic, 00′s sounding bassline and a sweet guitar riff, cola’s gentle vocal delivery is not in the slightest difficult to compare to the bedroom-made love songs that first catapulted him to fame- and to those who have listened to him from the beginning, it provides a warm source of comfort. ‘oh darling, i’ve spent a long time shaking the blues. and oh darling, i’d do it all again to make it to you.’ cola swears, and it’s hard not to think of the teenage boy who once brought us lines about loving his hometown of new york only for all the bridges he can jump off. cola is grown and he is happy, and the public have watched him struggle to get there, and it’s difficult not to feel warm about it. 

despite being designed to be a foil to the raw open wound of russian doll, richer than god & twice as pretty, in all of it’s experimental, radio unfriendly synth pop, feels like the most genuine, unfiltered look into the life of cory osada we’ve ever gotten. the presentation may be all cola, but cory is firmly at the helm, and he’s telling us who he is as easily as he tells us who he wants to have been.  

by putting the emphasis for his record on the “pop” part of “synth pop” – that is, on the aspect which takes the most honing and technical skill – cola has made something personal and accomplished, which feels like it totally enacts his vision. richer than god, therefore, is the combined result of smart instincts, and hard work: two principles which anchor every great musician. cola has been one of those for a longer than the media have been willing to admit, but this is definitive proof.  

tracklist

COLA | C4: RUSSIAN DOLL

two sundays ago, a teaser video promised that ‘c4′- understood as cola’s fourth studio album, would be released ‘soon.’ however, with no other word from cola’s camp and life continuing on at chapel records; many fans thought that there would still be somewhat of a wait for cola’s first official release in over a year. however, never one to embrace convention, today the sleepy starlet has dropped the entire album completely out of the blue.

after turning 21 last september, cola has come of age right in front of our eyes; and that’s been a very public struggle. six years ago, it would be hard to imagine that the precocious sixteen year old whisper-rapping over twinkly diy beats would achieve any sort of longevity in mainstream pop, never mind become a mainstay, (self-proclaimed) icon of the industry, with several acts signed to his very own label, a world tour under his belt, and finally grasping his most wanted accolade- the respect of his peers. 

c4: russian doll is symbolic of that coming-of-age. many of the tracks move away slightly from the summery synthpop of 2017′s c3: icon (the aformentioned self-proclamation) and into a much more stripped back, instrumental sound. sonically, it calls back to cola’s first studio album; and yet if pretty everlasting’s overarching theme is self-doubt, russian doll is it’s foil. c4 foregoes many of the bells and whistles decorating cola’s music, and instead delivers on a stellar production value (notably making use of live drums on the majority of the tracks; provided by the usual suspects of sf nation) and raw, honest lyricism. that is to say, cola shows us his two greatest strengths.

the title track ‘juice’ is cola at his most cola- flirtatious lyrics drawled over signature 80s synths. but tracks like ‘far less grace’ and opener ‘golden age’ tap into jarringly new soil. while the latter is dissonantly uplifting, as cola tells us in a small and unfamiliar voice that he has finally learned how to be happy within himself, the former makes comment on the political state of society. tackling gender issues, rape culture, and racism, ‘far less grace’ asks the difficult question of why- and the scathing vocal delivery is filled with a sad anger that fans haven’t heard from cola in the past. 

‘el dorado’ seemingly witnesses cola asking if the commercial idol life is right for him after all, while ‘motherfucker’ cusses out those who dare try to define him. with every display of weakness, we’re shown a display of strength, and although the album closes with the existential ‘silk flower’ despairing over mortality, the format of the album tells us that cola will be alright in the end- after all, if you continue his cycle and repeat the album, ‘golden age’ will tell you that ‘finally, [he] has found a way to be happy.’            

tracklist