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, due out via ATO Records on August 11th, which finds them returning with their finest collection of music yet.
While it might seem like Cordovas were away a bit longer this time, the music never stopped. The group, in whatever form it currently exists, is always active. “When you finish your record, you’re starting the next one,” Firstman explains. Cordovas is a state of constant flow: Firstman, Soria, and their 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. Before the dust remotely began to settle on Destiny Hotel, Cordovas were already back in the shop, working up a trove of songs from which The Rose of Aces would emerge.
Once Cordovas had about 20 songs they were happy with, they linked up with producer Cory Hanson. Firstman bemusedly describes the theoretical mismatch of the pairing — Hanson the Southern California kid coming out to Nashville to work with “a whole bunch of, you know, Americans.” Whatever culture clash might’ve been there was just extra gasoline. “He brought a super-charged way of thinking because he’s a genius,” Firstman says. “He’s built his life wanting to sound like himself.” Hanson ended up contributing vocals and guitar to the album as well.
Today Glide is excited to premiere “High Roller,” another highlight of the album that tells the story of having a chaotic bender at a casino. With the kind of slow-churning piano boogie and twangy pedal steel that speaks this tale of substance-induced missteps, the tune is a proper work of alt-country. In true Cordovas fashion, there is a timelessness to the music that makes it feel like this tune could have come out of the cosmic country-rock eras of the 1970s, 90s, or right now. Discussing the single, Joe Firstman stated, “Salvation is sought, but characters stumble into sordid corners. The narrator and his compatriot Stanley are having a chaotic bender at a casino but salvation is still on their minds.“
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