Cordovas back in Europe with "The Rose of Aces"

The story of Cordovas is one of rock ’n’ roll seekers, hammering away in search not just for a platonic ideal of their freewheeling sound, but also for some greater truth about our experience as humans. The band is fueled by the long strange trip of frontman Joe Firstman, who had a circuitous path through his young adulthood — spat out from the major label system, a stint as a bandleader on Last Call With Carson Daly, and finally finding his way back to himself, a mystic classicist who has guided Cordovas through their own series of twists and turns. That includes their new record The Rose of Aces, which finds them returning with their finest collection of music yet. 

On their their fourth record, country rockers Cordovas continue to display their amazing ability to seamlessly synthesize the introspective lyrics of The Band, the rising melodies of the Allman Brothers, and the overall feel-good nature of the Grateful Dead into creating their own distinctive sound. The result is a sparkling record that exists somewhere between country, straight-out rock and roll, and bluegrass that also just so happens to be one of the best listens lately.

Leading off with the anthemic and best singles of the year “Fallen Angels of Rock n’ Roll” which contains the wonderful lyric and rhetorical question we could all ask ourselves – “How many times did music save your soul ?” and ends with the equally anthemic “Somos Iguales” (We Are Equal) the band in between these two wonderful bookends deftly crafts a collection of songs which recognizes the commonalities of all of human existence with empathy, wit, and positivity.

The characters move through the band’s musical stories giving a nod to the realities of sadness and the heartbreaks of life while recognizing the necessity of staying anchored and appreciative of living in the moment. 

Ultimately The Rose of Aces is one of those records best listened to while driving down a winding country road on a sunny day with the wind in your hair which I believe was the producers’ intention. Their deft production on the record gets out of the way of the band and lets them be who they are – a band with the magical talent to give the listener instantly singable songs that stay in your head for days.

In September and October Cordovas will be back in Europe:

11/09: Barcelona, ESP - Wolf
12/09: Valencia, ESP - Loco Club
13/09: Madrid, ESP - Copérnico
14/09: Jerez, ESP - La Guarida del Ángel
15/09: Granada, ESP - Lemon Rock (SON Estrella Galicia)
18/09: Cáceres, ESP - Boogaloo
19/09: Zaragoza, ESP - Rock & Blues Café
20/09: Bilbao, ESP - DalecandELA Fest
21/09: Segovia, ESP - Octavo Arte (WIC)
22/09: Santander, ESP - Escenario Santander
24/09: Nijmegen, NL - Merleyn
25/09: Essen-Werden, DE - JUBB
26/09: Eindhoven, NL - Wilhelmina
27/09: Assen, NL - Promising Crossroads
28/09: Lint, BE - 't Groot Verzet
29/09: Leiden, NL - Q-Bus
01/10: Gothenburg, SWE - Pustervik
02/10: Oslo, NO - John Dee
03/10: Stockholm, SWE - Debaser
04/10: Falkenberg, SWE - Tryckhallen
05/10: Malmö, SWE - Folk Å Rock