17-02-2013, 13:28
online listen
comes close
not close enough
1.4 from me and a converted 2.1 from the pros at allmusic
from the album - Good Times
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKa1fUyIAVs
released Feb 12th, 2013
![[Image: MI0003491863.jpg?partner=allrovi.com]](http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_250/MI0003/491/MI0003491863.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
Bio - from allmusic
Born in Huntington Beach, California, in 1982, Matt Costa received his first guitar at age 12.
While he was always interested in music, even playing in a band in high school, Costa's first
love was skateboarding. His dreams of going pro came crashing to an end, however, when he
seriously injured his leg in a skateboarding accident at 18. During his year-and-a-half-long
rehabilitation period, Costa decided to refocus his energy on songwriting and guitar playing,
and began using a four-track to make demos. One of these demos found its way to No Doubt
guitarist Tom Dumont, who liked what he heard so much that he offered to produce Costa's music,
and soon they had recorded two independently released EPs, Matt Costa and The Elasmosaurus, as
well as a full-length early version of Songs We Sing. These caught the ear of Brushfire Records
owner Jack Johnson, who was impressed by the young musician's work and signed Costa to his
label and invited him to open his 2005 summer tour. In 2006, Costa's official major-label
debut, Songs We Sing (slightly different from the 2005 indie version), was released. Unfamiliar
Faces arrived in 2008, followed by Mobile Chateau in 2010. In 2013, Costa returned with an
orchestral and '70s AM pop-influenced self-titled album.
Album Review - from allmusic
Singer/songwriter Matt Costa's self-titled 2013 album follows up his '60s pop-inflected 2010
effort, Mobile Chateau. Where his previous album found the often Anglophile-leaning artist
imbuing his melodic pop with a kind of low-key psychedelia, here Costa keeps the old-school
vibe going, but colors it with a softer, often '70s AM pop radio approach. That means we get a
bit of country twang, some juicy organ sounds, and lots of shiny string and horn parts
throughout the album. Cuts like rambling opener "Loving You" and the sparkling "Shotgun" bring
together a mix of T. Rex's glitter rock and the pre-disco-era orchestral pop of Electric Light
Orchestra. Elsewhere, the late-afternoon melancholy of "Early November" and the equally as
ruminative folk-inflected "Laura Lee," with their gold dust-covered vinyl aesthetic, sound like
long lost Donovan songs. However, Costa is not merely a retro stylist; his songs are always
personal, yet universally relatable with evocative, poetic lyrics that seem to come from a
place deep in his soul. On "Shotgun" he sings "I tried to find my own way in the books that I
read/Found all my favorite authors, they're dead/Sometimes in your life you're gonna walk in a
room/Everyone's invited but you." But perhaps Costa sums up the album's appeal best on "Loving
You," as he croons "Loving you is not hard to do/We're always gonna make it through/You've got
my attention/Here's my affection for you." With Matt Costa, Costa definitely has our attention
and earns our affection.
Track Listing
1. Loving You
2. Early November
3. Eyes for You
4. Good Times
5. Shotgun
6. Clipped Wings
7. Laura Lee
8. Silver Sea
9. Ophelia
10. Golden Cathedrals
comes close
not close enough
1.4 from me and a converted 2.1 from the pros at allmusic
from the album - Good Times
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKa1fUyIAVs
released Feb 12th, 2013
Bio - from allmusic
Born in Huntington Beach, California, in 1982, Matt Costa received his first guitar at age 12.
While he was always interested in music, even playing in a band in high school, Costa's first
love was skateboarding. His dreams of going pro came crashing to an end, however, when he
seriously injured his leg in a skateboarding accident at 18. During his year-and-a-half-long
rehabilitation period, Costa decided to refocus his energy on songwriting and guitar playing,
and began using a four-track to make demos. One of these demos found its way to No Doubt
guitarist Tom Dumont, who liked what he heard so much that he offered to produce Costa's music,
and soon they had recorded two independently released EPs, Matt Costa and The Elasmosaurus, as
well as a full-length early version of Songs We Sing. These caught the ear of Brushfire Records
owner Jack Johnson, who was impressed by the young musician's work and signed Costa to his
label and invited him to open his 2005 summer tour. In 2006, Costa's official major-label
debut, Songs We Sing (slightly different from the 2005 indie version), was released. Unfamiliar
Faces arrived in 2008, followed by Mobile Chateau in 2010. In 2013, Costa returned with an
orchestral and '70s AM pop-influenced self-titled album.
Album Review - from allmusic
Singer/songwriter Matt Costa's self-titled 2013 album follows up his '60s pop-inflected 2010
effort, Mobile Chateau. Where his previous album found the often Anglophile-leaning artist
imbuing his melodic pop with a kind of low-key psychedelia, here Costa keeps the old-school
vibe going, but colors it with a softer, often '70s AM pop radio approach. That means we get a
bit of country twang, some juicy organ sounds, and lots of shiny string and horn parts
throughout the album. Cuts like rambling opener "Loving You" and the sparkling "Shotgun" bring
together a mix of T. Rex's glitter rock and the pre-disco-era orchestral pop of Electric Light
Orchestra. Elsewhere, the late-afternoon melancholy of "Early November" and the equally as
ruminative folk-inflected "Laura Lee," with their gold dust-covered vinyl aesthetic, sound like
long lost Donovan songs. However, Costa is not merely a retro stylist; his songs are always
personal, yet universally relatable with evocative, poetic lyrics that seem to come from a
place deep in his soul. On "Shotgun" he sings "I tried to find my own way in the books that I
read/Found all my favorite authors, they're dead/Sometimes in your life you're gonna walk in a
room/Everyone's invited but you." But perhaps Costa sums up the album's appeal best on "Loving
You," as he croons "Loving you is not hard to do/We're always gonna make it through/You've got
my attention/Here's my affection for you." With Matt Costa, Costa definitely has our attention
and earns our affection.
Track Listing
1. Loving You
2. Early November
3. Eyes for You
4. Good Times
5. Shotgun
6. Clipped Wings
7. Laura Lee
8. Silver Sea
9. Ophelia
10. Golden Cathedrals