Cordovas Demonstrate Staying Power on New Album

When first listening to Fallen Angels of Rock ‘n’ Roll, I had a good feeling Cordovas would deliver another compelling album. The Rose of Aces, which dropped last Friday (August 11), once again features the kind of warm-sounding Americana and roots rock that together with their multi-part harmony singing made me embrace the East Nashville, Tenn. band in 2018 when I saw them during a free outdoor summer concert in New Jersey.

Before getting to some music, I’d like to provide a bit of background on the group. Cordovas were founded in 2011 by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joe Firstman after he had put out a series of solo projects and served as bandleader from 2005 to 2009 on NBC’s former late-night TV show Last Call with Carson Daly. Following their self-released 2011 eponymous debut and various line-up changes, Cordovas signed with ATO Records, entering their next stage.

The group’s August 2018 label debut That Santa Fe Channel, which I reviewed here, was followed by Destiny Hotel in October 2020. The Rose of Aces marks their third release with ATO Records and their fourth studio album overall. In addition to Firstman (vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, Fender Rhodes, piano, synthesizer, Wurlitzer), Cordovas’ second core member is Lucca Soria (acoustic and electric guitar, bass, vocals) who Firstman on their website calls “the one soldier that understands what I’m doing best.”

Current press photo of Cordovas: Joe Firstman (fourth from left), Lucca Soria (second from left) and “co-conspirators”

Otherwise, Cordovas are in a state of constant flow, relying on various co-conspirators gathering in their twin outposts — a farm in Nashville, and a hideout in the artist community of the Baja California town Todos Santos — to jam out ideas. According to this review in Glide Magazine, The Rose of Aces was produced by Cory Hanson, frontman of L.A. rock band Wand. Time to take a closer look at the goodies!

Since I already covered the aforementioned Fallen Angels of Rock ‘n’ Roll in my most recent New Music Musings installment, I’m skipping the standout opener and lead single here and go right to What Is Wrong? Credited to Firstman and Sorie, the tune is a sunburnt twilight sigh of a song, notes the group’s website, originating with some ideas of Soria’s that the band then toyed with, adding some lyrics (“Are you ready?/ If you’re free enough to do it on your own”) that Firstman worked on with his girlfriend. The song well represents the mellow, laid-back feel that is present throughout most of the album.

High Roller, penned by Firstman and country songwriter Mark Cline Bates, tells the story of the narrator and his compatriot Stanley having a chaotic bender at a casino. In an interview with Holler Country, Firstman explained the song is about his spending spree in Las Vegas after Atlantic had signed him as a solo artist early in his career. Check out that mighty sweet pedal steel guitar! High Roller first appeared on July 11 as the album’s second upfront single.

Deep River, co-written by Firstman and Bates as well, is another tune that spoke to me right away. A song that starts with the lines Red tractor and a green pasture/Silver pickup knobs on my blonde Telecaster was bound to get my attention! I can hear a bit of Tom Petty in here. During the above Holler Country interview Firstman acknowledged the tune is about learning and growing from past indiscretions.

On Love Is All It Takes, the speed and intensity pick up, providing a welcome contrast. Solely written by Firstman, this track has a southern rock feel reminiscent of The Allman Brothers Band, one of the influences Cordovas have acknowledged, along with The Grateful Dead and The Band.

The last tune I’d like to call out is the beautiful closer Somos Iguales featuring Marisol Hernandez, aka. La Marisoul, lead vocalist in Los Angeles-based Mexican-American band La Santa Cecilia. Hernandez was also one of the co-writers, together with Firstman, Adrian “Ace” Campos and Jimmy Messner. I like the song’s simple yet powerful message about human equality. BTW, nopales, the pads of the prickly pear cactus, are a staple in Mexican dishes.

If you like what you’ve heard, I’d encourage you to check out the full album. With a total playtime of less than 35 minutes, no daunting time commitment is required. I think including another more rock-oriented tune among the 12 tracks could have added a bit more variety. It’s a minor wrinkle in an otherwise solid album that has a timeless feel.

Sources: Wikipedia; Cordovas website; Glide Magazine; Holler Country; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

Since the sudden death of my beloved mother-in-law Carmen Anaya Acevedo last week, I essentially took a break from blogging, including Best of What’s New. It just didn’t feel right. Meanwhile, new music didn’t pause, which is good news. This week’s installment could have easily been longer, but I’d like to keep these posts to four to six songs.

I’m particularly excited about new music by Stevie Wonder, one of my favorite artists, who last July announced he needed a kidney transplant. The surgery happened in December, and apparently Wonder, who turned 70 in May, is doing well. There’s also new music by Tom Petty, Americana rockers Cordovas, as well as three additional artists including a German alternative rock band. Let’s get to it!

Tom Petty/Leave Virginia Alone

Leave Virginia Alone is a tune from Wildflowers & All the Rest, the substantially enhanced reissue of Tom Petty’s second solo album, which came out on October 16. Written in 1995, the song was first recorded by Rod Stewart for his 17th studio album A Spanner in the Works from May that year. While Stewart’s version, which I hadn’t heard before until now, isn’t bad, I much prefer Petty’s take. The track also appeared separately as a single on October 1. I really miss Tom Petty, and it’s great to hear his voice.

Cordovas/Destiny

Cordovas are an Americana rock band from Memphis, Tenn. formed in 2011. The members are vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Joe Firstman, Sevans Henderson (keyboards), Lucca Soria (guitar, vocals) and Toby Weaver, another vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. Destiny is a track and the lead single of the band’s new album Destiny Hotel released on October 16. According to the band’s website, the album expands on the harmony-soaked roots rock of Cordovas’ ATO Records debut That Santa Fe Channel, a 2018 release that earned abundant praise from outlets like Rolling Stone and NPR Music. I covered it here at the time.

Stevie Wonder/Can’t Put It in the Hands of Fate (feat. Rapsody, Cordae, Chika & Busta Rhymes)

Can’t Put It in the Hands of Fate is one of two new tunes Stevie Wonder released on October 13, coinciding with the 36th birthday of his oldest son Mumtaz Morris. He is joined by hip hop artists Rapsody, Cordae, Chika & Busta Rhymes, which definitely makes this a song that’s outside my core wheelhouse. But I actually love it! Lyrically, it’s almost a present day version of You Haven’t Done Nothin’ or Living For the City, both tunes Wonder recorded in the ’70s. “In these times, we are hearing the most poignant wake-up calls and cries for this nation and the world to, please, heed our need for love, peace and unity,” he stated, as reported by Jambase. According to Billboard, Wonder will also release a new full-length album to be titled Through the Eyes Of Wonder. His last such album A Time to Love dates back to September 2005.

Jeremy Ivey/Hands Down in Your Pocket

Jeremy Ivey is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. According to Apple Music, he established himself in the early 2010s as a member of the country-soul band Buffalo Clover alongside his wife, singer/songwriter Margo Price. When Price’s career took off in 2016, Ivey served as her guitarist and sideman before signing a deal with Anti- and launching a solo career of his own with 2019’s The Dream and the Dreamer. Hands Down in Your Pocket is a tune from Ivey’s sophomore solo album Waiting Out the Storm, which was produced by Price and came out on October 9. “I think that having the opportunity to put out my own records, I’ve got a lot of pent-up inspiration,” Ivey told Apple Music. “Because there are just certain freedoms that I can take when I’m singing the song that I can’t take when I’m writing it for someone else to sing.”

Yola/Hold On (feat. Sheryl Crow, Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby & Jason Isbell)

Yola, born Yolanda Quartey, is an English singer-songwriter from Bristol, England. She was the lead vocalist of English country and soul band Phantom Limb and recorded two albums with them in 2008 and 2012. In February 2016, she released her solo EP Orphan Offering. A full-length debut album Walk Through Fire followed in February 2019. Yola has also sung backing vocals for numerous artists, including Massive Attack, The Chemical Brothers and Iggy Azalea. In addition, she was a guest on the 2019 eponymous debut album by country super group The Highwomen, together with Sheryl Crow. Yola’s latest single Hold On, released October 9, features Crow on piano, Jason Isbell on guitar, as well as The Highwomen’s Brandi Carlile and Natalie Hemby on backing vocals. As reported by Pitchfork, a portion of the tune’s proceeds will benefit MusiCares and the National Bailout Collective.

Die Happy/Story of Our Life (feat. Daniel Wirtz)

I’d like to wrap up this post with new music by alternative rock band Die Happy, formed by Czech singer Marta Jandová and guitarist Thorsten Mewes in 1993 in Ulm, Germany. The current line-up also includes Ralph Rieker (bass) and Jürgen Stiehle (drums). Die Happy’s debut album Better Than Nothing appeared in 1994. They have since released 13 additional albums including their most recent Guess What from April this year. Story of Our Life featuring Daniel Wirtz, a German rock singer-songwriter, is on the bonus version of the album and was released as a single on September 18.

Sources: Wikipedia; Cordovas website; Jambase; Billboard; Apple Music; Pitchfork; YouTube

Americana Rockers Cordovas Release New Single and Announce New Album

Cordovas recently released High Feeling, the first song from their new album Destiny Hotel that’s slated for October 16. The Americana and country rock band from East Nashville, Tenn. first entered my radar screen two years ago, when I caught them during a free outdoor summer concert close to my house. The group’s multi-part harmony singing got my immediate attention. Together with their guitar-driven sound, they remind me of bands like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Band, Grateful Dead, Eagles and Little Feat.

“We just wanted to write something true and easy,” bassist and vocalist Joe Firstman told Rolling Stone about the new single that appeared on August 5. “That was the vibe from the very beginning,” added Firstman, a singer-songwriter, who founded Cordovas in 2011, following a six-year stint as bandleader for NBC late-night show Last Call with Carson Daly. The band’s other current core members include include Toby Weaver (guitar, vocals), Lucca Soria (guitar, vocals) and Sevans Henderson (keyboards).

Cordovas (from left): Lucca Soria, Sevans Henderson, Joe Firstman and Toby Weaver

Recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Rick Parker, Destiny Hotel is the third full-length album by Cordovas, following their first label release That Santa Fe Channel from August 2018, which I previously reviewed here. Rolling Stone also calls out contributions from Black Pumas. I included the psychedelic soul band from Austin, Texas in a recent installment of my Best of What’s New feature. The group’s Adrian Quesada  provided additional production, guitar, and mixing work for High Feeling, which also features backing vocals by Angela Miller and Lauren Cervantes, who are both touring members of Black Pumas.

According to Cordovas‘ website, Destiny Hotel is a work of wild poetry and wide-eyed abandon, set to a glorious collision of folk and country and groove-heavy rock-and-roll…[The album] expands on the harmony-soaked roots rock of Cordovas’ ATO Records debut That Santa Fe Channel, a 2018 release that earned abundant praise from outlets like Rolling Stone and NPR Music. While the statement certainly doesn’t lack confidence, I think the record’s first single lives up to it, and I look forward to listening to the entire album.

Sources: Wikipedia; Rolling Stone; Cordovas website; Discogs; YouTube

Cordovas Release New Album That Santa Fe Channel

Until a few weeks ago, I hadn’t heard of Cordovas. Then I saw the Americana rock band from East Nashville, Tenn. in a free summer concert in the park in Woodbridge, N.J. and immediately liked what I heard. Frankly, I’m still a bit in disbelief they played there in the first place but, hey, that’s how they got on my radar screen, so I’m not complaining! Today, they released what I understand is their second studio album, That Santa Fe Channel, and it’s a real beauty.

Listening to Cordovas feels a bit like taking a journey back in time to the late ’60s and early ’70s, a period in music I love. Sometimes, my dear wife tells me I grew up during the wrong decade – she may be right about it!:-) Anyway, Cordovas’ beautiful triple-stacked harmony vocals and guitar-driven sound remind me of bands like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Band, Grateful Dead, Eagles and Little Feat.

Billboard called Cordovas’ music a blend of Southern and California Americana. Rolling Stone, in a June 2017 feature titled 10 New Country Artists You Need To Know, described their sound as “decidedly American” and “caught halfway between Duane Allman’s Telecaster twang, the Dead’s hazy harmonies and the stoned swoon of California’s folk-rock heyday.”

I could never come up with such clever attributes, which is why I probably wouldn’t get far as a music journalist. But while I may be challenged to find the right buzz words, given my former band days as a bassist (admittedly many moons ago!) and close to four decades of listening experience, I feel confident enough to say that This Santa Fe Channel is great music, since I know it when I hear it! Of course, ultimately, it comes down to individual taste.

Cordovas (left to right): (left to right) Toby Weaver, Graham Spillman, Lucca Soria, Sevans Henderson and Joe Firstman

Led by bassist Joe Firstman, Cordovas have been around for some time. According to Billboard, the first album released under their name appeared in 2011 and essentially was a solo effort by Firstman. Firstman has a long history predating the band, which includes a 2002 solo debut album, War Of Women, and a stint as music director on Last Call with Carson Daly. “For this one [the new album] we had the idea to make it a band and go forward to do it,” he told Billboard. “I saw the weaknesses in that first (solo) process and I recognized that I felt like I was much stronger in the band, with guys that I really trust and are like-minded individuals. I wanted to build something that would last.”

The band’s current line-up, which also includes Toby Weaver (guitar, vocals), Lucca Soria (guitar, vocals), Sevans Henderson (keyboards) and Graham Spillman (drums), has been together for five years. Cordovas are exceptionally tight-knit. Not only are they band mates who tour prolifically, but they also live together in the same compound in East Nashville. “The Cordovas are a 24-hour, 7-days-a-week job,” explains Firstman on the band’s Facebook page. “We’re eating dinner together, hanging out together, and making art. We don’t have rehearsal times, because rehearsal is always. You have to honor the art first, and everything else comes second.” I think it’s fair to say these conditions wouldn’t work for most bands, so kudos to Cordovas for their extraordinary commitment. Time to let some music do the talking, or perhaps I should better say the writing!

Here’s the album’s opener This Town’s A Drag. This tune nicely sets the tone for the record: Great harmony singing and a warm sound blending electric and pedal steel guitar.

Selfish Loner is the longest track on the album, clocking in at just over four and a half minutes. Most tunes are only around three minutes or less. In fact, the nine songs on the album only total about 29 minutes altogether.

Here’s Frozen Rose, one of two tunes Cordovas had released as a single ahead of the album.

The last tune I’d like to highlight is Standin’ On The Porch, which in addition to country rock throws in some blues. I also dig the tune’s groove.

That Santa Fe Channel was produced by Kenneth Pattengale, a singer and guitarist in American indie folk duo The Milk Carton Kids. The album appears on ATO Records, an independent New York-based label founded in 2000 by Dave Matthews and manager Coran Capshaw. Among others, their roster includes Alabama Shakes.

Cordovas are currently where they appear to be most of the time – on the road. Their present U.S. schedule posted on their website goes until early October. Upcoming gigs include Chicago (Aug 16), Washington, D.C. (Aug 23), Fort Worth (Aug 30) and Cleveland (Sep 5). Earlier this year, the band toured in Europe.

Sources: Billboard, Rolling Stone, Cordovas Facebook page and website, ATO Records website, YouTube