Unfamiliar Faces - Matt Costa

Instantly poppy and ear catching, a simple piano hook draws you in and Costa's voice pulls the music forward.  Neither mundane, sleepy, or overemotional, these are the sounds summer is made for.  I'm not talking summer like Jack Johnson, also on Brushfire Records, which I thought this albums would sound like.  The laid back, surfer style does not exude from Costa and I was pleasantly surprised.  Even simpler, more expected songs contain just a little bit of bounce, enough for me to take notice and not instantly wipe the album from my hard drive.  "Mr. Pitiful" sounds like a show tune.  "Never Looking Back" could be sung around a campfire or riding your horse through the desert I imagine.  Musically, I really like "Emergency Call," with its full, choppy piano sound, bongos, and vocal melody, but so far the album is lyrically a little disappointing.  "Vienna" weirdly tries to apply a Brazilian bossa nova feel to a city totally unassociated with it, then he sings a little bit of German and I'm lost.  Perhaps there's something I'm missing.  Back to basic piano pop - the title track, a little better lyrically and I enjoy the way the piano winds around his voice at the end of phrases, at least in the beginning of the song.  The repetition of the chorus is bland and far too long.  I'm far too ready for "Cigarette Eyes" when it finally comes.  It occurs to me that Costa sounds a bit like someone pulled out of the 1960s and placed at a piano bar with some rhythm guitar to fill things out.  This song might prove to be the most rewarding to listen to again.  "Downfall" is something I've heard a million times.  "Trying to Lose My Mind" is exactly the 60s vibe I've been picking up and oddly enough he sings "Well I met a girl / she didn't like my song / She told me that old songs were better."  I guess he didn't listen.  "Bound" is an attempt at some dark blues, but I don't think Costa has the emotional range to pull it off.  I would guess he just likes that sound (thing Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks"), but it doesn't come close.  It seems the brightness that opened the album has decayed track by track.  I like "Heart of Stone."  This seems like his niche, his voice sounds like John K. Samson from the Weakerthans.  Its clever guitar picking matches his vocal style well and I would put this on the best crafted song so far.  "Miss Magnolia" had potential but his syllabic chorus sounds too much like Mungo Jerry.  Did I mention this album is from the 60s?  I may have been a few years too early in that estimate, but Matt Costa is a few decades late.