It’s Day 2 of the second weekend of Austin City Limits, the music festival held each year at Zilker Park. The year is 2017. It’s a beautiful sunny afternoon in Austin. My friend and I have just left one stage area, making our way to the next when he asks my opinion: “Who has been the best so far?” It’s a short conversation because there is no debate. It’s unanimous.
I can’t recall if it was minutes or hours later, but later that day, in a moment of serendipity, we happened to find ourselves standing next to the artist in a sea of festivalgoers. We chatted with the artist for a few minutes and I recounted the aforementioned story. The artist embraces me, truly appreciative of our love for his performance and his music.
The artist was Josh Ostrander, otherwise known as Mondo Cozmo. Two months earlier, he released his debut album, Plastic Soul, which contained the No. 1 hit single “Shine.”
Despite only touring as Mondo Cozmo for a few short months, Ostrander proved that no stage was too big for him. He absolutely commanded the large stage at ACL. A rockstar was born.
Two albums followed suit: New Medicine recorded before but released during the pandemic and This Is For the Barbarians recorded during the pandemic and released in 2022. Ostrander has expressed some disappointment with the latter, feeling as if he rushed it “to feel good about being productive during the pandemic.”
In a recent interview on the podcast Roadcase, hosted by Josh Rosenberg, Ostrander explained that he became more focused after the release of This Is For the Barbarians. He also expressed his love for various artists from Dylan and Lou Reed to Spoon. It was the latter’s 2022 release, Lucifer on the Sofa, that made Ostrander realize the kind of record he needed to make. Straightforward, focused, and concise rock and roll.
To achieve his vision, Ostrander connected with Mark Rankin – the producer behind Lucifer on the Sofa. After sending Rankin three songs and some backstory behind each one, Rankin agreed to the collaboration. The result is It’s PRINCIPLE!, released in August of this year.
Front to back, It’s PRINCIPLE! is Ostrander’s best since Plastic Soul. This is not meant as a detraction of New Medicine or This Is For the Barbarians, both of which have their highlights (“Black Cadillac,” “Like a Bird,” “Come On,” “Kicks (Positively Montauk),” and “Mercy,” “Feel Good,” and “Meant for Livin’”). But Ostrander himself has conceded that he previously chased production on previous albums, perhaps to the detriment of the songs themselves. Not anymore. It’s PRINCIPLE! returns Ostrander to the heights of Plastic Soul, if not beyond.
In support of the album, Ostrander and his band, each of whom were decked out in costumes to embrace the holiday, stopped in Chicago to play a Halloween show. Small stage, big stage, it doesn’t matter because Ostrander always delivers the goods. The Halloween show was no exception as the band ripped through 14 songs from each of his four albums, including four from It’s PRINCIPLE! (the self-titled track, “Here I Am,” “Killing Floor,” and “Wild Horses”). They also played the No. 1 hit “Shine,” the Lou Reed/Velvet Underground-tinged “Black Cadillac,” and his mom’s least favorite song: “Your Motherf—-r” from the EP of the same name.
To learn more about Mondo Cozmo, including the latest album, check out his website here.
All images: © Derek Smith / High Voltage Concert Photography for American Blues Scene
