Matt Costa
Songs We Sing

THE REVIEW

The first time I vaguely heard about Matt Costa was in preparation for Jack Johnson's concert in Milan last winter.

He was among the supporting acts, so I downloaded a few tracks just so I wouldn't be completely ignorant, but after his concert performance, I fell deeply in love, listening to the CD over and over.

The aforementioned album is called "Songs We Sing" and was released in 2005 under the Brushfire Records label (that's why Jack Johnsons, ALO, etc.). It's preceded by an EP that contains some songs, later included in the album, and it's composed of a dozen tracks. All strictly performed with his faithful acoustic guitar in hand. In fact, this is one of those precious cases where a silent acoustic guitar can be more powerful than an electric scream.

The sweetness of his voice is directly proportional to the atmospheres he creates with the melody, the simplicity of the acoustics to the driving rhythms that speak of love, whiskey, and wine, of dust and the moon.
Listening to tracks like "Sweet Rose", "Behind The Moon", or "Song We Sing", you imagine him dressed as a cowboy, armed with a banjo, cowboy boots, and a blade of grass in his mouth, playing under a centuries-old tree in the American prairies. Yet, it turns out he's a guy coming straight from California who was once a decent skater and started his musical career by chance, collaborating with groups like Pinback, Modest Mouse, and the Shins!!

Not bad at all this Matt Costa!!!