Cortez Announce Thieves and Charlatans Out Oct. 18; Premiere “Gimme Danger (On My Stereo)” Video
Boston-based stalwarts Cortez will release their fourth album, Thieves and Charlatans, this Fall. Set to arrive Oct. 18 through Ripple Music, the band’s follow-up to 2020’s Sell the Future (review here) continues that record’s somewhat darker outlook on their nonetheless melodically-centered, riff-heavy approach, traditional in many respects, but perhaps never more their own than now in terms of representing their metal/rock foundations and varied-of-purpose songwriting. October is a while away, so I don’t want to get into album-review mode and get ahead of things, but the record has been in the works for a while — it was recorded in Summer/Fall 2022 as the credits state below, and in the blue text after the headline is a bio I wrote last year — and time has done nothing to dull its impact.
In terms of style, it is the farthest reaching Cortez have been, but Cortez have never just been about reach so much as what can be done with a grounded sense of craft. That too is all over Thieves and Charlatans, and it coincides with a confidence born of maturity and the awareness-of-self in the material. That is to say, Cortez are intentional in what they do and they know what they’re about as a band. Those aren’t parameters being set or limits imposed — see “farthest reaching,” like, two sentences ago — but there’s a clarity of purpose that just can’t be faked, and it extends to bringing the likes of Craig Riggs (vocalist of Roadsaw, owner of Mad Oak Studio, drummer of Sasquatch, etc.) and Jim Healey (We’re All Gonna Die, Black Thai, countless others in addition to solo work) — two powerhouse singers — to join Matt Harrington on vocals across some of the tracks, both backing in “Levels” and contributing to “Stove Up” and “Leaders of Nobody,” respectively. It’s not the kind of thing Cortez would have done in a less-assured position, but Thieves and Charlatans is the moment, and those songs, as well as the rest of the record, hit just right.
Save a spot on your year-end list for when you hear the album, is what I’m saying.
And so much for “not review-mode.” Fair enough.
Thieves and Charlatans opener “Gimme Danger (On My Stereo” premieres in the video that follows directly here. The bio I wrote begins with “Boston loves…” and ends where my credit is listed (“Words by whatshisface”). I stand by every word of it.
Enjoy:
Cortez, “Gimme Danger (On My Stereo)” video premiere
CORTEZ: New album “Thieves And Charlatans” out October 18Th on Ripple Music (LP/CD/digital)
US Customers – Pre-order physical copies @ https://ripplemusic.bigcartel.com/
EURO Customers – Pre-order physical copies @ https://en.ripple.spkr.media/
Or get your digital AND physical pre-orders WORLDWIDE @ https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com
Boston loves an underdog, and as double-guitar heavy rock five-piece Cortez pass 15 years since the release of their 2007 debut EP, Thunder in a Forgotten Town, they remain persistently underrated.
Cortez are among the safest bets you can make in heavy rock and roll. Across three full-lengths to-date – 2020’s Sell the Future, 2017’s The Depths Below, 2012’s Cortez – the band has solidified a songwriting process and a straight-ahead, don’t-need-nuthin’-fancy-when-you-can-rock-like-this attitude that is second to none, in their home city or out of it.
Their latest LP, Thieves and Charlatans, demonstrates their ability to, without aping anybody – a bit of Black Sabbath worship in the swaggering “Stove Up” notwithstanding – command a sound that is both classic-rooted and modern in its construction. Working in continued collaboration with producer Benny Grotto at Mad Oak Studio, and with the returning lineup of vocalist Matt Harrington, guitarists Scott O’Dowd and Alasdair Swan, bassist Jay Furlo and drummer Alexei Rodriguez (although he has since been replaced by Kyle Rasmussen) – as well as guest vocal spots from Craig Riggs (Kind, Roadsaw, Sasquatch, etc.) and Jim Healey (We’re All Gonna Die, Black Thai, Blood Lightning, etc.) – Thieves and Charlatans sees them look forward as ever while regarding their past in a new way.
“The Song ‘Stove Up’ is a tribute of sorts to Tony D’Agostino (our former guitarist),” says the band. “The music dates back to the period after Thunder in a Forgotten Town, when that lineup was writing songs for what eventually became the self-titled. We had played the song live a handful of times with the Thunder lineup but scrapped it once Tony left the band. We decided to rework it and have Matt add some vocals as a callback to our beginnings as a band.”
While the sprawl and doom-chug largesse of the eight-minute “Levels” – finding new ones, are Cortez – aren’t to be understated, even the verses of the Non-LP track “Odds Are” seem to be a solo, and closer “Solace” builds to as consuming an emotional finish as Cortez have ever wrought, the band makes clear statements of who they are in “Leaders of Nobody” and “No Heroes” and still have a party in “Gimme Danger (On My Stereo)” without giving up either impact or movement of the songs that follow. It is an attention to detail that serves them well.
“We were a bit selfish while writing and recording this album,” says O’Dowd. “There’s probably one of our catchiest songs in ‘Gimme Danger (On My Stereo),’ and yet some of our longer, gloomier songs as well. There are also more complex guitar and vocal arrangements than in the past.”
“This album is an anomaly of sorts because these songs were written and recorded in a vacuum, during a pandemic,” reminds Harrington. “Cortez has never been shy about playing new songs before they are released, and this is the first time we didn’t have the filter of an audience. I feel like this is a more personal record as a result. We wrote these songs as friends in a room that no longer exists, holding onto something real in a prolonged period of extreme doubt, and we present them in the same way.”
With unmatched consistency of craft and performance, Cortez’s willful progression continues through Thieves and Charlatans, a record born boldly of tumult that speaks to past as much as future that’s just waiting for you to take it on. (Words by JJ Koczan)
CREDITS
All songs written and performed by Cortez. “Stove Up” written by Tony D’Agostino and Cortez.
Recorded and mixed by Benny Grotto at Mad Oak Studios Summer/Fall 2022
Mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music
Album artwork by Titukh
Alexei Rodriguez performed all drums on Thieves And Charlatans.
Additional vocals by Jim Healey on “Leaders of Nobody” and “Levels”
Additional vocals by Craig Riggs on “Stove Up” and “Levels”
Additional percussion and synth by Benny Grotto
CORTEZ is:
Matt Harrington – Vocals
Scott O’Dowd – Guitar
Alasdair Swan – Guitar
Jay Furlo – Bass
Kyle Rasmussen – Drums
[…] new video »Gimme Danger (On My Radio)« HERE + listen to the single on all streaming […]
[…] Alongside the announcement of the new album, CORTEZ have released a new music video for a new song lifted from the upcoming album; Gimme Danger (On My Stereo). The new music video was first premiered via The Obelisk. […]