CORTEZ is a band from Boston who have had 3 full-length albums prior to this 2024 release. As a lover of nearly all things hard, heavy & underground for over 50 years, it pains me to admit that I’d never listened to them before. Your reasonable question would be “why?” and my less-than-reasonable answer would be “I have no fucking idea.” Call me human, but they’re simply one of those bands that “got by me” over the years.
This all changed a couple months ago when I saw a blurb on the net hawking a new CORTEZ album (their first in 4 years!). It caught my eye first because of the striking b/w artwork. At first blush it looked heavy as shit and made me look again. When I did, I saw that the title of the album was “Thieves And Charlatans.” Now maybe it’s me, but that’s not some everyday, throwaway title. To me, it immediately struck me as a ballsy, badass moniker. You don’t get a bunch of sissy boys from the private school together playing barbershop quartet music and put out a record called “Thieves & Charlatans.” You’ll get your ass handed to you in the schoolyard if you try some shit like that. No, an album title like this is reserved for a gang from the wrong side of the tracks who are not only there to kick your ass but also have the charm of street-wise rogues from a Charles Dickens novel. This is an album title THIN LIZZY may have chosen. Nuff said. I asked good ol’ Doctor Todd to send me a CD. Every now and then this grizzled old coot makes a good decision….
As I alluded to in my typically wordy intro, I have yet to hear CORTEZ’s previous discs. That is a situation I plan to remedy. In the meantime, I’ll waste no time in saying that this one flat-out smashed through the saloon doors and gunned me down. You can call this “stoner-doom-metal” or whatever genre du jour floats your boat, but the thing is, it’s pure RAWK!!!
It seems pretty simple doesn’t it? You get a 5-piece band together, a singer, 2 guitarists, a bassist & drummer. And you rock… except, not necessarily. It doesn’t always work. In fact, it very seldom reaches the summit. On this CD, the summit is in sight early on. The first song is called “Gimme Danger (On My Stereo).” Again, balls of steel. You reference a STOOGES song title, you’d better back it up and this does it hard. 2 guitars in lock-step, rhythm section pounding & the singer wailing the following in a voice that’s laced with both desperation and hook-laden melody:
“… I know it seems that way, so baby, welcome to the end of days
This 90s treadmill’s getting old, I’m getting high in Mexico
Estranged, impatient, gods above
And, if we die, let’s die for love
It may not seem that way, but you’re alive…”
And you are suddenly alive, ready for the next cut, which is the 7 1/2 minute “Leaders Of Nobody.”
Opening with a nasty doom rhythm crawl that would stall the likes of Iommi or Chandler, this one then morphs into an upper-beat middle section that’ll bang your head and tear your heart out before landing on snail-like brutality again to close.
And on the album goes, each track laced to the last by it’s heart & soul, but never repeating nor regurgitating. The mid-paced Clutch-like groove pocket of “Stove Up,” complete with a guitar solo entry at 1:13 that will singe your eyebrows off. “No Heroes” is a hammering grinder with a chorus that’s simply beautiful in it’s spiraling melody.
All this leads into a 2nd half which is even better. “Levels” is an 8+ minute epic that swims along in an evenly paced exploration during which the vocals stretch & seethe, coupling with wonderful guitar runs that weave a beautifully heavy tapestry. I’d have to say that in an album of highlights “Odds Are” is my go-to right now. I feel a huge THIN LIZZY vibe in the swing and the guitar work is simply gorgeously off-the-chart in its melody, harmony, and feel. Keep your neo-classical pablum all you want. THIS IS FUCKING DUAL RAWK GUITAR 101!!! And the lyrics are just right there. Right damn there:
“There is nothing ‘wrong’ with your ‘crazy’ thoughts,
you’re not fuckin’ up, you’re surviving.”
The album could probably end right there and have me sold, but CORTEZ (named for the Neil Young classic “Cortez The Killer”) aren’t done yet. First they hit us with another 8-minute monolith, “Liminal Spaces,” a pillaging plunderer (maybe the heaviest riffs on offer here) before taking another turn midway thru to deliver a breathtaking instrumental section that once again, is a clinic in heavy lead guitar work.
Finally, the band leave us with the 6 1/2 minute “Solace.” It’s the perfect finale, as it enters mildly enough and then develops an upwardly cascading melody that calls to mind some of the best NWOBHM ballads. At one point, when Matt Harrington changes his vocal delivery from nearly ethereal singing to a more guttural low, it’s done so well that you’d swear you never heard anything like it before. Gotta say, when I went to Todd Severin for a copy of “Thieves And Charlatans,” I was curious and hopeful. As it turns out, I’ve been totally blown away. CORTEZ is as good a rock band as currently trods the boards.
CORTEZ:
Matt Harrington – vocals
Scott O’Dowd – guitar
Alasdair Swan – guitar
Jay Furlo – bass
Alexei Rodriguez – drums on this album
