Cordovas Frozen Rose
Alysse Gafkjen

Hear Cordovas' Warm and Rootsy 'Frozen Rose'

 

Nashville roots-rock outfit Cordovas released their second single from That Santa Fe Channel, a piano-groover called "Frozen Rose." Much like their first single, the laidback late-night mourner "This Town's A Drag," "Frozen Rose" is warm to the touch with triple-stacked harmonies and punches of early honky-tonk piano.

There's a fiery tempo within the head-nodding "Frozen Rose" that channels the rootsy southern charms of The Band's most piano-driven moments. Still, Cordovas' "Frozen Rose"—and That Santa Fe Channel at large—has a layered comfort that's close to The Grateful Dead's dreamy country-blues or Elton John's country-western infatuated Tumbleweed Connection.

Their harmonies are rooted in American roots-rock music tradition, yet still, they come across as refreshingly unique with plenty of nuance and charm. There's a gritty warmth that gently sweeps across their brand of homespun Americana. It's built on countless shows and endless practice to create a robust and natural flow.

Cordovas leader Joe Firstman says that "Frozen Rose" was very much a collaborative effort that took shape after guitar-vocalist Lucca Soria brought the idea to the table.

"After Lucca brought the heart of the song to the laboratory table, we all dug in," says Firstman in a recent press release. "I always liked the hook 'just a few times' and we built up the structure over a few months and lots of tequila under a Pacific moon in Mexico. It's one of our best songs to perform live."

Firstman and company recorded That Santa Fe Channel in East Nashville with Milk Carton Kids' Kenneth Pattengale as the album's producer. They captured the easy-going, organic and rootsy album not too far from their home that doubles as their rehearsal space and headquarters.

That Santa Fe Channel is due out August 10 via ATO Records.

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