Matt Costa Biography

As he got into the composition process, something grander and sonically daring began to emerge. Costa soon found himself in the midst of an unforeseen but tremendously expanding growth of talent as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, something he had not anticipated. Costa explains, "The songs started changing and twisting and taking on a more mysterious feel, while at the same time I started expanding up my idea of what's possible with melody." Costa's new self-titled release proves to be his most ambitious and magnetic album to date, thanks to his resculpting of those songs with elaborate yet naturalistic instrumentation and some boldly inventive merging of disparate musical styles—as well as decamping to Glasgow to record with longtime Belle & Sebastian/Mogwai cohort Tony Doogan and an illustrious ensemble of Scottish musicians. Costa's propensity for combining sun-soaked pop with delightfully ethereal returns on the follow-up to 2010's Mobile Chateau (hailed by AllMusic as a "gorgeously garage-sounding album with organic percussion instruments, crackling tube-driven amps, and jangly guitars cascading in every direction"). Costa expands on that combo with lush orchestration and expansive melodies that raise his sound to a breathtaking new level in a clear developmental shift. The ferociously creative self-titled LP was produced by Doogan (also known for his work with Teenage Fanclub, Mojave 3, and Super Furry Animals) and recorded at Castle of Doom (the Glasgow recording studio created by Doogan and Mogwai), and features a prestigious lineup of supporting musicians, including Costa's friend and guitarist Danny Garcia, Belle & Sebastian guitarist Stevie Jackson, and bassist Danny Garcia of Teenage Fanclub (pedal steel, piano, double bass). Costa, who learned to play guitar at the age of 12 by strumming along to Nirvana recordings, attributes his creative growth to some thorough study of symphonic methods to songwriting. “Once I started serious about composing, I knew I wanted to add strings to the songs, so I listened to a lot of symphonies and Mozart, then experimented with working it all out on guitar,” Costa explains. “It was really helpful in terms of inspiring me to work with more intriguing chords and larger, grander themes.” Costa also concentrated on writing tunes that could support horn arrangements, a nod to his days as a trumpet player in his youth. With catchy melodies, creative touches of humor, and exquisite lyrics performed in a delicate yet forceful voice, Matt Costa mixes up those polished arrangements. For example, on the lead song "Good Times," he delivers a cabaret-worthy, piano-driven stomper with a smart twist in the chorus ("Good times are coming to an end"). Costa channels T. Rex's glammy romanticism and freewheeling pop attitude as he reminisces on the carefree early days of a lengthy love in "Loving You," another deceptively light track. Costa's never-ending exploration of wide musical space has now generated a collection of songs that painstakingly mine his inspirations while conjuring up an exceptionally fresh and creative new sound on his new self-titled album. “I was thinking about the Basement Tapes [a compilation of recordings recorded by Bob Dylan and The Band in 1967] and how much I've always liked the way those songs made me feel, and how they were all done so simply,” he adds. “Part of what I wanted to do with this record was working with all of these enormous, over-the-top compositions that burst open and go off into a whole other dimension—but yet produce that same kind of cool, clean feeling,” she says.

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