Boston stoner metallizers Cortez are back in your neighborhood with a new set, Thieves And Charlatans.
I started listening to Cortez a few years ago when I was living in the Northeast because they are fantastic. Heavy, creative, and imminently headbangable, each and every song will get you one way or another. They have released an EP, a couple f splits, and three previous long-players leading up to Thieves And Charlatans. The band is Matt Harrington (vocals), Scott O’Dowd (guitar), Alasdair Swan (guitar), Jay Furlo (bass), and Kyle Rasmussen (drums). All drums on the album performed by Alexei Rodriguez.
Talking about the latest music, frontman Harrington said, “This album is an anomaly of sorts because these songs were written and recorded in a vacuum, during a pandemic. 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.”
The coconut is cracked with “Gimme Danger (On My Stereo),” and it is a catchy motherfucker. The riffs are the lure and the vocals are the net that scoops you up. The lead guitar is mesmerizing. “Leaders Of Nobody” presents doom to get your attention and picks up the pace as it goes along, speeding toward the end and slowing as it reaches. “Stove Up,” which is the way I feel every time I wake up, is surprisingly buoyant, given the title. And then we arrive at “No Heroes,” a grinder that will gnaw on your bones. Excellent.
On the backside there is “Levels,” a cautious and powerful metal song that came from granite lands. “Odds Are” sounds simultaneously laid back and serious, while “Liminal Spaces” is duo-thematic as well, being spacey and grounded at the same time. The album ends with “Solace,” which is melancholy and soulful and soaring, going out on a smooth crescendo. This is another fantastic album from Cortez. Highly recommended.
