Editor’s Note: Welcome to Quarantainment, Vanyaland’s new series on what to watch, what to hear, and how to deal as the world engages in social distancing to combat the spread of coronavirus, or COVID-19. We’re all at home, we’re all online, and we’re all in this together. #StayTheFHome
Whether you realized it or not, Mondo Cozmo spent most of 2019 delivering jam (“Black Cadillac”) after jam (“Come On”) after jam “Generator”). Now, the grand, fuzzed-out rock and roll project from LA-based, Philly-born Josh Ostrander is back with a new, true-to-2020 anthem called “Upside Down.”
And dear reader, let us tell you, we are here, sitting by our damned selves, monitoring whether or not our cough is dry enough to get concerned, feeling the fuck out of it. “Upside Down” a song that soundtracks our collective sense of trying to stay positive while drowning in a sea of WTFs.
“Every single night I watch the evening news and wonder… ’bout right,” says Ostrander. “Crazy times call for a crazy tune. It’s my attempt at a feel-good summer song in an imploding world. Good times…”
The new single sets a tone for the new Mondo Cozmo album, New Medicine, which will hit later this year and serves as the follow-up to 2017’s breakout LP Plastic Soul. Among its collaborators are producer Lars Stalfors (Cold War Kids, Foster The People), songwriter Dan Wilson (Adele, Phantogram), and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s Peter Hayes and Leah Shapiro.
“This album sums up a lot for me,” Ostrander says. “Coming to terms with the weird guilt of success, navigating a new American experience.”
Aren’t we all? Get into “Upside Down” below, either via Spotify or the Travis Shinn-directed music video, and hit up Ostrander’s YouTube page for his ongoing Live In Exile sessions.
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