Mondo Cozmo unveils “Upside Down”
Mondo Cozmo – the chart-topping brainchild of alternative singer-songwriter Josh Ostrander – has announced today’s premiere of his eagerly awaited new single. “Upside Down” is available now via Last Gang Records at all DSPs and streaming services; the track is joined by an equally potent companion video, directed by Ostrander’s longtime visual collaborator, acclaimed photographer/filmmaker Travis Shinn (Motionless In White, Killswitch Engage), and streaming now at the official Mondo Cozmo YouTube channel HERE.
Stream/download “Upside Down” here.
“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…”
“Upside Down” heralds Mondo Cozmo’s long awaited new album, NEW MEDICINE, due later this year. The album – which follows 2017’s extraordinary debut album, PLASTIC SOUL, and its breakthrough hit single, “Shine” – sees Ostrander collaborating with a stunning line-up of studio superstars, including producer Lars Stalfors (Cold War Kids, Foster The People), songwriter Dan Wilson (Adele, Phantogram), and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club guitarist Peter Hayes and drummer Leah Shapiro, among others.
When ‘Shine’ took off at radio, the next year was spent on the road,” Ostrander says. “Playing every show, doing every meet-n-greet, every morning radio show, every podcast, interview, and after party. And why not? It was the first time anyone wanted to talk to me about music. I loved it, but by the end of the year I was pretty beat down and tired. It came to head during a video shoot in which I just completely lost it. I found myself in a situation where I lost control, and in front of the band, label, management I punched a glass door and destroyed my hand. I would spend the night in the emergency room watching them put my hand back together.
“But I began writing. The tunes just poured out. I was put on medication after the hand debacle. I assumed that’s where the songs were coming from. That’s where the NEW MEDICINE title came from. But I couldn’t play guitar, enter Peter Hayes from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. ‘I’ll play guitar for ya.’ He guided me. He pushed me to get the record done. As did Butch Vig, who would help me make sense of the demos I was sending to him on the daily.
“This album sums up a lot for me. Coming to terms with the weird guilt of success, navigating a new American experience. With a numb hand.”
Known for his work as producer, singer-songwriter, and bandleader, the Philadelphia-born and Los Angeles-based Ostrander unveiled Mondo Cozmo in 2017 and immediately proved a sensation with the project’s ecstatic debut single, “Shine.” The track fast ascended to #1 on Triple A charts nationwide, instantly propelling Mondo Cozmo into the pop spotlight. Tours alongside such like-minded artists as Bastille, Spoon, Vance Joy and The Revivalists followed, as did show-stealing performances at top festivals like Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza and a high profile network TV debut performance of “Shine” on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! (streaming HERE).
PLASTIC SOUL arrived that same year and was greeted by worldwide critical acclaim, with The Guardian hailing the collection in a four-starred rave as “wonderfully infectious, with echoes of Spiritualized (the euphoric ‘Shine’), Bob Dylan’s vocal delivery (most notably on ‘Hold On To Me’) and ACHTUNG BABY-era U2 (‘Higher’), all while retaining a strong thread of individuality. Throughout, there’s a maximalist joy at play, ideas tumbling over one another, reaching their apotheosis on the bombastic and emotionally draining ‘Thunder.’” “An endearing listen with a strikingly eclectic production,” declared CLASH. “Ostrander delivers off-kilter pop bursting with colour.” Perhaps The Independent said it best: “There’s a pure energy that courses through the record…PLASTIC SOUL is superb.”
Recent months have seen Mondo Cozmo rolling out a string of soaring new music from NEW MEDICINE, including such album highlights as “Come On,” “Black Cadillac,” and “Generator,” the latter recently featured on ABC’s hit drama, The Good Doctor. All are joined by cinematic companion videos streaming now via his official YouTube channel HERE.
Mondo Cozmo plans to celebrate NEW MEDICINE with a wide-ranging headline tour later this year. In the meantime, Ostrander has just begun a series of home studio performances, dubbed the “Live In Exile Sessions.” The first installment – which sees him and members of his touring band linking together for a stirring rendition of the PLASTIC SOUL fan favorite, “Chemical Dream” – is streaming now via YouTube HERE; additional “Live In Exile Sessions” will follow in the coming weeks.