Ripped Apart: Cola Wars - Invader

From the ashes of Aussie punk rock heroes Bodyjar emerge the bigger and bolder Cola Wars. Featuring ex-Bodyjar frontman Cam Baines and drummer Shane Wakker, as well as ex-For Amusement Only guitarist Mikey Juler and Mark Brunott on bass, Cola Wars' guitar shreddin', tub thumpin' debut album Invader drops next month and here the band talk us through it, track-by-track.

1.   Belgian Border

We think of this one as our 'driving' song …fast & heavy … it sets the tone for the album. It has a strange quality to it. The very first guitar riff was written to sound like an air raid siren, a declaration that Cola Wars are here! The chorus is a little twisted but it works! Lyrics tackle negative people who you just want out of your life … "the Belgian border waits" in other words “fuck off”. An obvious opener to the album.

2.   Giving It Up

Who isn’t sick of living in modern society at some point? But who’s got the balls to turn their back on all the expectations, smear themselves with mud and live in a shack in the country somewhere? Possibly Wakker once he’s finished his tour of duty with Cola Wars. Giving It Up is the first single to be lifted from Invader.

3.   Bullet

This tune has a strange groove to it … a kind of looseness that the other songs don’t have. It’s a little weird, but definitely the most original song on the record. It takes a few listens, but it pays off. Mark’s lyrics: “weapons rolling off your tongue rendering me dead, and I'm waiting to feel your bullet in my head". Some people mistakenly think they can make themselves feel better by being total shits to others … thankfully the world just don’t really work that way. "The seeds that you sow are the ones that you grow" - A short distance dedication.

4.   Lost & Lonely

Every album needs a world song!! Ha ha. We judge people hard & we always think the worst… that’s the way we're headed. It’s a song about karma. The last song written for the album - presented by Cam the night before recording commenced and completed in the studio… well worth the wait. Also the most 'commercial' sounding song on the album. Great beat in the chorus. Love the soaring delay on the guitar lead & Mikey’s desperate vocal… an instant classic & band fave for sure.

5.   Man In The Glass

Cam’s personal fave… check the octave lower singing in the verse ala Gunners' It's So Easy. Lyrically it's based on an anonymous poem called The Man Behind The Glass. Basically the only person you have to be able to live with is the person in the mirror. If you aren’t proud of what you're doing, or if it goes against your personal beliefs then don’t do it. It’s a great poem and has long been a favourite of Alcoholics Anonymous, whose members no doubt appreciate the probably unintended pun on "glass", as in "drinking vessel". Legend has it that the poem was scrawled on the walls of death row in San Quentin prison by a nameless author.

6.   The Ending

Cola Wars’ nod to classic oz rock … Men At Work, etc. It’s dynamic and really showcases Mikey’s vocal. A fave in the live set, it was written one day when we were frustrated and wanted to try our hand at something a little different. Lyrically it’s about the circular nature of a destructive relationship. What keeps you together when you both know it’s just not right? Love the lyric "were only screaming SOS to find the clock at 5.05 again". The Ending is the second half of a cryptic story that started in Notice Me. Sadly some people are just addicted to conflict and drama.

7.   Falling In

The Cola Wars anthem! We always talked about trying to write a protest anthem for today, something people could sing along to & remember. Dig the simplicity and verse melody. Best of all are the three-part harmonies through the chorus...and you bet we can do ‘em live! The chorus and bridge music were written by Mark while gargling Listerine to a tune in his head. Song’s about Bush's war, the grotesque fascination the media had with it and how we couldn’t look away: "people everywhere, are trying not to stare but they don’t know how".

8.   Breathe

"Let me breathe"…we all need our space. An old one, something cool and original about the drum and bass groove. It's slow but has real power and a great melody. Our ballad I guess, a little reminiscent of Husker Du and Sugar in the bridge and chorus. Kal (Tonuma) the producer (The Temper Trap, The Living End, Evermore) thinks it’s the best track on the album.

9.   Hell To Pay

A fast punk number influenced by great '80s punk like Big Drill Car and Descendents...and just a little bit Bodyjar, but it is really cool. Had several arrangements before the album version was finally realised. Lyrically? If you want to change your life you have to help yourself, don’t wait around whining about it, do something!! "you want this to be, yet you won’t help yourself, you know it makes a difference".

10.   Notice Me

Drums and bass really lock into each other in this song and create a great bed for the vocal to get really personal on. Awesome vibe in the verse. First thing ever written for the band when Mark and Cam went on a debaucherous trip to Sydney to write songs. Known as the lost weekend it produced hangovers, depleted bank accounts and a couple of other tunes, but none so hooky and dark.

11.   Eye

Gotta love a song about betrayal and how when you are at your lowest there’s always somewhere lower to go. The loss of trust and faith can still yield something positive though even if it’s just a more guarded view on life which can be beneficial. The ending is a veritable guitar symphony. The arrangement got worked hard in pre-production and the studio by our producer but the work paid off.

Invader comes out on Fri Jun 18 through Inertia.

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