Mondo Cozmo's Josh Ostrander understands what happens when the heart cracks in two--and what to do next. That empathic ability drew him intrinsically to the Barbarian poets, a group of writers who gathered in San Francisco's Cafe Babar in the 1980s. Crammed into a tiny back room, poets like David Lerner would roar out their latest works amidst an equal flurry of riotous applause and smashed pint glasses. When Ostrander first came across Lerner's poetry, it was the energy, the fervor, and the passion that grabbed him. Reeling from loss in his family, mired in pandemic, and searching for hope, Ostrander connected immediately to the dedication in one of Lerner's books, knowing he'd found the title of his next album. This Is For the Barbarians (due April 8th via Last Gang Records) recognizes that death and life can be celebrated synchronically, pulling the darkness in to find the light inside, discovering grandeur in life's most intimate moments. "It's bright and funny, the human experience in a year of isolation," Ostrander says. "It's a slice of my liver and a piece of my heart. This is for the people going through darkness like I've been going through. Is anybody else out there hurting, or mad, or scared out of their mind? We're in this together."
Mondo Cozmo built up his audience--his tribe of Cozmo-nauts--through his first two records, songs that sit at some sublime and surreal convergence of folk poetry and acoustics, heady electronics, and anthemic rock hooks. His 2017 debut, Plastic Soul, earned loving reviews everywhere from Entertainment Weekly to The Guardian, catapulting Mondo Cozmo onto stages with the likes of Spoon and Muse. His sophomore record, 2019's New Medicine, amped up the punk urgency, thanks in part to collaborations with members of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and guidance from the legendary Butch Vig.
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Mondo Cozmo is an American singer-songwriter based out of East Los Angeles, CA. Working influences ranging from The Verve, Primal Scream, Beck, Beastie Boys and Bob Dylan in a contempt fusion of beats, guitars and attitude.
In the Spring of 2016 multiple Los Angeles radio stations including KCRW 'Morning Becomes Eclectic,' 98.7, 88.5, KROQ, Zane Lowe and NPR, started playing the demos which led to a record deal with Republic Records which was signed in a Mexican restaurant in Burbank. Upon hearing the songs Spike Stent demanded to mix the record. Anna Faris (Mom, The Dictator, Lost in Translation) stared in the first video ""Hold on to Me"" which was shot documentary style in a retirement facility in Santa Monica, CA. That same week a second video was shot starring Paz De La Huerta for ""Higher,"" the video was originally shot for ""Sixes and Sevens"" but was changed after Mondo saw the footage leading him to write the song ""Higher"" for De La Huerta.
show less
Mondo Cozmo built up his audience--his tribe of Cozmo-nauts--through his first two records, songs that sit at some sublime and surreal convergence of folk poetry and acoustics, heady electronics, and anthemic rock hooks. His 2017 debut, Plastic Soul, earned loving reviews everywhere from Entertainment Weekly to The Guardian, catapulting Mondo Cozmo onto stages with the likes of Spoon and Muse. His sophomore record, 2019's New Medicine, amped up the punk urgency, thanks in part to collaborations with members of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and guidance from the legendary Butch Vig.
~~~~~~~~~
Mondo Cozmo is an American singer-songwriter based out of East Los Angeles, CA. Working influences ranging from The Verve, Primal Scream, Beck, Beastie Boys and Bob Dylan in a contempt fusion of beats, guitars and attitude.
In the Spring of 2016 multiple Los Angeles radio stations including KCRW 'Morning Becomes Eclectic,' 98.7, 88.5, KROQ, Zane Lowe and NPR, started playing the demos which led to a record deal with Republic Records which was signed in a Mexican restaurant in Burbank. Upon hearing the songs Spike Stent demanded to mix the record. Anna Faris (Mom, The Dictator, Lost in Translation) stared in the first video ""Hold on to Me"" which was shot documentary style in a retirement facility in Santa Monica, CA. That same week a second video was shot starring Paz De La Huerta for ""Higher,"" the video was originally shot for ""Sixes and Sevens"" but was changed after Mondo saw the footage leading him to write the song ""Higher"" for De La Huerta.
Mondo Cozmo's Josh Ostrander understands what happens when the heart cracks in two--and what to do next. That empathic ability drew him intrinsically to the Barbarian poets, a group of writers who gathered in San Francisco's Cafe Babar in the 1980s. Crammed into a tiny back room, poets like David Lerner would roar out their latest works amidst an equal flurry of riotous applause and smashed pint glasses. When Ostrander first came across Lerner's poetry, it was the energy, the fervor, and the passion that grabbed him. Reeling from loss in his family, mired in pandemic, and searching for hope, Ostrander connected immediately to the dedication in one of Lerner's books, knowing he'd found the title of his next album. This Is For the Barbarians (due April 8th via Last Gang Records) recognizes that death and life can be celebrated synchronically, pulling the darkness in to find the light inside, discovering grandeur in life's most intimate moments. "It's bright and funny, the human experience in a year of isolation," Ostrander says. "It's a slice of my liver and a piece of my heart. This is for the people going through darkness like I've been going through. Is anybody else out there hurting, or mad, or scared out of their mind? We're in this together."
Mondo Cozmo built up his audience--his tribe of Cozmo-nauts--through his first two records, songs that sit at some sublime and surreal convergence of folk poetry and acoustics, heady electronics, and anthemic rock hooks. His 2017 debut, Plastic Soul, earned loving reviews everywhere from Entertainment Weekly to The Guardian, catapulting Mondo Cozmo onto stages with the likes of Spoon and Muse. His sophomore record, 2019's New Medicine, amped up the punk urgency, thanks in part to collaborations with members of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and guidance from the legendary Butch Vig.
~~~~~~~~~
Mondo Cozmo is an American singer-songwriter based out of East Los Angeles, CA. Working influences ranging from The Verve, Primal Scream, Beck, Beastie Boys and Bob Dylan in a contempt fusion of beats, guitars and attitude.
In the Spring of 2016 multiple Los Angeles radio stations including KCRW 'Morning Becomes Eclectic,' 98.7, 88.5, KROQ, Zane Lowe and NPR, started playing the demos which led to a record deal with Republic Records which was signed in a Mexican restaurant in Burbank. Upon hearing the songs Spike Stent demanded to mix the record. Anna Faris (Mom, The Dictator, Lost in Translation) stared in the first video ""Hold on to Me"" which was shot documentary style in a retirement facility in Santa Monica, CA. That same week a second video was shot starring Paz De La Huerta for ""Higher,"" the video was originally shot for ""Sixes and Sevens"" but was changed after Mondo saw the footage leading him to write the song ""Higher"" for De La Huerta.
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Mondo Cozmo built up his audience--his tribe of Cozmo-nauts--through his first two records, songs that sit at some sublime and surreal convergence of folk poetry and acoustics, heady electronics, and anthemic rock hooks. His 2017 debut, Plastic Soul, earned loving reviews everywhere from Entertainment Weekly to The Guardian, catapulting Mondo Cozmo onto stages with the likes of Spoon and Muse. His sophomore record, 2019's New Medicine, amped up the punk urgency, thanks in part to collaborations with members of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and guidance from the legendary Butch Vig.
~~~~~~~~~
Mondo Cozmo is an American singer-songwriter based out of East Los Angeles, CA. Working influences ranging from The Verve, Primal Scream, Beck, Beastie Boys and Bob Dylan in a contempt fusion of beats, guitars and attitude.
In the Spring of 2016 multiple Los Angeles radio stations including KCRW 'Morning Becomes Eclectic,' 98.7, 88.5, KROQ, Zane Lowe and NPR, started playing the demos which led to a record deal with Republic Records which was signed in a Mexican restaurant in Burbank. Upon hearing the songs Spike Stent demanded to mix the record. Anna Faris (Mom, The Dictator, Lost in Translation) stared in the first video ""Hold on to Me"" which was shot documentary style in a retirement facility in Santa Monica, CA. That same week a second video was shot starring Paz De La Huerta for ""Higher,"" the video was originally shot for ""Sixes and Sevens"" but was changed after Mondo saw the footage leading him to write the song ""Higher"" for De La Huerta.
show less
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