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 band leader 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. Cordovas’ origins go all the way back the early ‘10s, when Firstman decided he was best with a band around him. After releasing a self-titled debut and undergoing various iterations, things really started cooking when guitarist Lucca Soria joined the fold. Firstman describes him as “the one soldier that understands what I’m doing best.”

The Rose of Aces begins with a conjuring. “Your song comes on like a cure/ And you rememberwho you were before/ How many times did music save your soul?” Firstman asks on opener “Fallen Angels of Rock ’n’ Roll.” He goes on to trace rock history from Memphis to Muscle Shoals — though he’ll also quip he’s never actually been to Muscle Shoals. “I’m also aware of all the stuff that came through those places,” he says. “The criss-cross of American highways, you can’t take that away from me, man. I’ve ridden those dirty roads a lot.” As is their custom, Cordovas held on to “Fallen Angels of Rock ’n’ Roll” for years, road-test in git and letting it come into its own before it was time to really get it into shape for recording. Firstman reflects on how Cordovas’ always sharpening chops — the band’s playing, but also his ability to push his voice further — let the song be what it always wanted to be over the years.While the song gives the album a rallying cry, it’s not without its wistfulness — its title reflecting 

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
30/09: Norderstedt, DE - Music Star
01/10: Gothenburg, SWE - Pustervik
02/10: Oslo, NO - John Dee
03/10: Stockholm, SWE - Debaser
04/10: Falkenberg, SWE - Rootsy Falkenberg
05/10: Malmö, SWE - Plan B