|
|
|
|
|
8 Merchants
|
|
|
|
Compare Prices
|
|
Product Description:
When Matt Costa sat down to write what would become Unfamiliar Faces, the follow-up to his 2005 debut full-length Songs We Sing, the singer/songwriter took his most treasured belongings and put them on a shelf -- then stared at them and just let the memories flow. "That way I could see everything that I loved," he explains (the collection included his favorite books, a giant wooden pipe, and a box of old 45-speed records from the late 1950s). "I let my imagination wander. Regular life isn't as exciting as an imaginary life." On the strength of the folky, beautiful Songs, which displays his gentle artistry and skillful acoustic guitar playing, Costa earned a rep as an L.A. buzz act, crisscrossed the U.S. in a van, and performed at all the major North American music festivals including Coachella, Lollapalooza, Sasquatch, Bonnaroo, and Austin City Limits among others. Invigorated by onstage collaborations with tour openers like Los Angeles rockers The 88 and Elvis Perkins, he returned to California and wrote nearly all of Unfamiliar Faces in Sacramento, then recorded the album in the spring of 2007 in Santa Ana, again with Dumont, even inviting Adam Merrin from The 88 to play keys on a few tracks. It's Costa's second release on Brushfire Records, the label co-founded by Jack Johnson, who has been a longtime supporter - the two fellow musicians have toured together several times and collaborated on numerous soundtrack projects.
From Amazon.com:
Matt Costa's Unfamiliar Faces continues to demonstrate the facility with pop craft and disparate influences he displayed on his 2006 debut, Songs We Sing. One listen to Costa's work and it's obvious why Jack Johnson felt compelled to sign him to his Brushfire Records label, as he shares Johnson's fondness for direct, agreeable alternative pop. But Costa leans slightly more into the alternative side of that equation on Faces. He sounds just as comfortable working off a Brit-pop template as he does with incorporating bits of bands like the Smiths (especially on "Vienna") and straightforward, contemporary sounds a la Counting Crows, or the quieter moments in Dave Matthews's catalog. Songs like "Mr. Pitiful" and "Cigarette Eyes" show off convincing choral hooks, and his unadorned, relaxed singing style is flexible enough to give ballads like "Heart of Stone" a compelling, folksy melancholy. It isn't quite flexible enough, however, to handle the drama of something like "Bound," with its bluesy, Jeff Buckley-esque grandeur. But it's to Costa's credit that he tries to stretch himself and find the edges in his smooth, easily digestible songwriting instincts. --Matthew Cooke
Disc 1
1. Mr. Pitiful
|
2. Lilacs
|
3. Never Looking Back
|
4. Emergency Call
|
5. Vienna
|
6. Unfamiliar Faces
|
7. Cigarette Eyes
|
8. Downfall
|
9. Trying to Lose My Mind
|
10. Bound
|
11. Heart of Stone
|
12. Miss Magnolia
|
|
|
|
Getting Better With Each Album - 
|
Unfamiliar Faces Review
|
|
|
I got into Matt Costa after hearing his track on Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies for the Film Curious George (Jack Johnson). Then after seeing him live shortly afterward I came to really appreciate him as an artist. So once this album came out it was a definite day one purchase.
The album as a whole musically and lyrically surpasses his previous Songs We Sing album with stand outs like Lilacs, Unfamiliar Faces, Cigarette Eyes and Miss Magnolia. The sound of the album has a great blend of acoustic rock and some songs mixed with elements of southern blue grass sound like in Miss Magnolia.
As a whole, the album is a great listen, with barely a bad track in site. But the weaker (but not bad) songs like Bound and Heart of Stone keep it from getting 5 stars. Any fan of the Brushfire record line should pick up this album and his previous Songs We Sing. Anyone else should give a few songs a listen first since it's not for all in the mainstream music scene. Great Album buy a great artist, and make sure you see him live if you are lucky enough to get a chance.
|
|
A Must-Buy. Why isn't this guy famous yet? - 
|
Unfamiliar Faces Review
|
|
|
Five in the morning, I turn on MTV, hoping for some background noise while I munch on my Cheerios. Still groggy, I watch, dumbfounded by an odd guy running around the streets of some city - possibly San Francisco - playing some strange contraption that consisted of three or four different musical instruments. He was playing an infectious melody about a certain "Mr. Pitiful." Needless to say, I purchased this cd that very day.
Matt Costa is an amazing song writer and a big breath of fresh air in a world of rap and My Chemical Romance. This cd is amazing, from the bouncy "Mr. Pitiful" to the beautifully simple "Vienna"; from the bluesy "Bound" to the catchy folk "Miss Magnolia."
If you appreciate song writing, and you don't mind some originality, this cd is one to check out.
|
|
Matt Costa - fun CD -
|
Unfamiliar Faces Review
|
|
|
Matt Costa's Unfamiliar Faces is a fun CD. He has a wide variety of music styles, from blues to pop. His style is similar to that of The Beatles, mixing serious with fun, and melodic with syncopation!
|
|
Great CD -
|
Unfamiliar Faces Review
|
|
|
I drove 6 hours this past weekend and kept going back to play this album.
|
|
Excellent -
|
Unfamiliar Faces Review
|
|
|
Order shipped the next day and arrived in perfect condition. Great price and great product.
|
|
 See more customer reviews...
|
|
|
