Built on a Weak Spot

While many may remember Caulfield Records for some of their earlier releases in the early to mid nineties, it’s easy to sometimes forget about some of the better records that came out on the label in its final years. Kolya were a trio out of Boston, MA that put out one self-titled record through the label in 2001 and then were not heard from much after. However, that record makes for a fairly decent example. Not exactly obscure, but not as big as some of their early 90’s predecessors. They also put out a couple singles as well on other labels that are completely worth tracking down or purchasing if they happened to be stumbled upon one of these days

I hate to make it sound as simple as just mashing two genres together and leaving it at that, however I can’t honestly figure out a good way to describe what Kolya did other than saying that it was a very interesting and (in my opinion) successful cross between early to mid nineties emo and the rhythmic styled math-rock that was commonly coming out of Chicago almost during the same time. The vocals, which were shared between two of the members, give it a very nostalgic feel for some of those early DC bands, as they are often presented in a spoken…sometimes shouted manner. It works quite well however. The way in which the songs work through like a rollercoaster of climbs and falls, occasionally remind of past greats Boys Life and Christie Front Drive. On it’s own though, Kolya’s only album is a great piece of work definitely worth having for anyone that may have missed it the first time around and are fans of this type of thing.

Self-Titled:
Kolya – Robots Dream in Black and White [MP3]
Kolya – Resuscitation [MP3]

Iditarod 7’’:
Kolya – Iditarod [MP3]
Kolya – Still Life with Candle [MP3]

Kolya 7’’:
Kolya – The Story Becomes the Vehicle [MP3]
Kolya – Conversations and Smokescreens [MP3]

Kolya split up shortly after the release of their self-titled album; I am not so sure what followed. Although I do know that guitarist Todd Giles and bassist Craig Schechter later were in the band The Union Ares. Todd Giles these days is in bluegrass band called Poverty Line Old Time Band. If anyone else wants to fill in any gaps, then feel free. As for the Kolya record, it can still be had over Amazon and many other places of online retail. So do check that out and pick it up if the tunes posted are of interest.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 3rd, 2008 at 6:15 am and is filed under emo, indie-rock, math-rock. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.