We love long, car-bound sojourns when we can finally wade through the deep musical deluge that flows our way. We were minding our own business out on the high-desert highways recently when the big bold sounds of Mondo Cozmo came on the car stereo and nearly caused us to careen off course. Such is the effect of this band, which is led by Joshua Ostrander (formerly with Eastern Conference Champions).

In a classic “oh-my-who-the-heck-is-this-and-why-have-I-never-heard-them-before?!!” moment, their astounding anthem Hold On to Me came over the speakers and immediately floored us. Not only does the T-Rex/Bowie-meets-Oasis-and-The Verve-with-best-ever-Dylan-vocals melange immediately seize your ears, but thematically the song also hits the heartstrings hard (lyrics below). Perhaps the best introduction to the track is to watch its emotion-inducing video immediately below (beware: water may drip from your head). The video features actress Anna Faris and was filmed at OPICA, which provides “comprehensive personalized services for adults challenged with memory loss, as well as respite and peace of mind for their families.” Amen.

Next up came Shine, an anthem of stadium-swaying proportions that’s rife with big-heart sentiments. Check out its lyric-video below (followed by the song’s official video and a recent live performance on KCRW). Shine is a powerful hymn that bears repeating (but only a thousand times). And the production (credit?) is absolutely perfect. Wow!

To continue your/our Mondo Cozmo dive, next check out the swaying shimmy of Plastic Soul as performed on KCRW (with Ostrander wielding an Ian Felice-esque, world-weary vocal–highest praise possible). According to Ostrander the track was “written for David Bowie and it’s about time travel.” Uh-huh. Afterwards, check out the raging Chemical Dream, which adds on sweet Lou Reed and Joseph Arthur motifs to the mix. And finally, check out the locomotion of Higher in which the band layers on elements of Blur, the Stones and LCD Soundsystem to powerful effect.

With such great songs and delivery, Mondo Cozmo is a sure to be a shining star in the musical cosmos. The band will soon release their first album entitled Regrowth on Republic Records.  The band is also out on tour now so catch them at their SXSW dates, opening for Bastille or at the festivals as shown at bottom.

Hold On To Me:

“Why you sitting on your broken-hearted hands tonight?
You wanna sing like us? You gotta rip your eyes out

No one has ever loved you more than this
Why don’t you come and feel it out?

I can’t promise you anything, but I can tell you I’ll never leave

Hold on to me

Why you sitting on your broken-hearted hands tonight?
You wanna run with us you gotta rip your brains out

I have loved you for a thousand lives
What’s one more night for us to give?

I can’t promise you anything, but I can tell you I’ll never leave

Hold on to me”

Mondo Cozmo – North American Tour Dates With Bastille:

03/17 – Cedar Street – Austin, TX *
03/17 – Stubb’s Bar-B-Q – Austin, TX *
03/22 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN *
03/24 – Air Canada Centre – Toronto, ON
03/26 – Bell Centre – Montreal, QC
03/27 – Agganis Arena – Boston, MA
03/28 – Eagle Bank Arena – Fairfax, VA
03/30 – Barclays Center – Brooklyn, NY
03/31 – Mohegan Sun – Uncasville, CT
04/02 – Elliott Hall of Music – W. Lafayette, IN
04/03 – Aragon Ballroom – Chicago, IL
04/04 – Bradley University – Peoria, IL
04/06 – Smart Financial Center – Sugar Land, TX
04/07 – Bold Sphere Music – New Orleans, LA
04/09 – Verizon Theatre – Grand Prairie, TX
04/11 – Comerica Theatre – Phoenix, AZ
04/13 – UCCU Center – Salt Lake City, UT
04/14 – The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan – Las Vegas, NV
04/23 – Greek Theatre – San Francisco, CA
04/25 – Keller Auditorium – Portland, OR
04/26 – WaMu Theatre – Seattle, WA
04/27 – UBC Thunderbird Arena – Vancouver, BC
04/29 – Taco Bell Arena – Boise, ID
04/30 – Theatre at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse – Bozeman. MT
05/02 – Orpheum Theatre – Omaha, NE
05/03 – 7 Flags Events Center – Des Moines, IA
05/05 – Ascend Amphitheatre – Nashville, TN
05/06 – Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre – Charlotte, NC
05/07 – St. Augustine Amphitheatre – St. Augustine, FL
05/09 – Orlando Amphitheater – Orlando, FL
05/10 – Fox Theatre – Atlanta, GA
05/12 – Red Hat Amphitheatre – Raleigh, NC
05/13 – Shaky Knees Festival – Atlanta, GA +
05/20 – Hangout Music Festival – Gulf Shores, AL +
05/26 – Sasquatch Music Festival – George, WA +
05/28 – Boston Calling – Boston, MA +
06/04 – The Governors Ball Music Festival – New York, NY +
06/08 – Bonnaroo Music Festival – Manchester, TN +
06/17 – Firefly Music Festival – Dover, DE +
07/14 – Forecastle Festival – Louisville, KY +
* Headlining dates w/o Bastille
+ Festival dates w/o Bastille

It’s a good week for TV rock ‘n roll (and America) when Spoon appears twice on the talk shows. Last night’s showing was a bit different than we’re used to from Britt Daniels and the boys. We’re more used to seeing Spoon rock hard as if post-spoon (see Exhibit A, this week’s performance of Hot Thoughts on Kimmel). But Spoon will occasionally break out a ballad(-ish). Even when they do, though, they can’t help pulsing it for a bit. Check out the band vacillating and wowing below while performing I Ain’t The One on James Corden’s show last night. Great stuff from the always-reliable Spoon. Their new album is out on Matador on March 17th. Get it.

Long-time Lefort faves Elbow have just released their seventh album, the impressive and critically-lavished Little Fictions. The band recently announced (see the video announcement at bottom, followed by the tour dates) that they will tour North America in November, including November 14th at the Observatory in Santa Ana and November 16th at The Wiltern in LA (where we last caught their fantastic live act).

To get a feel for what they’ll bring across the pond, check out below an astoundingly great take on Magnificent (She Says) from their show in Brussels two weeks ago. They never disappoint!

“Bring your faith in humanity and goodwill with you.” Done.

Go get your tickets HERE.

ELBOW –
01 NOV – Paradise Club, Boston MA
02 NOV – Webster Hall, New York City, NY
03 NOV – Webster Hall, New York City, NY
04 NOV – 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C.
06 NOV – Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON
07 NOV – St. Andrews Hall, Detroit MI
08 NOV – The Vic, Chicago IL
10 NOV – The Showbox, Seattle, WA
11 NOV – Roseland Theater, Portland OR
13 NOV – Fox Theater, Oakland CA
14 NOV – The Observatory, Santa Ana CA
16 NOV – The Wiltern, Los Angeles CA

The phenomenally talented band Dawes is out on tour right now, and you should do everything in your power to catch them while you can. They are in their prime element live and one of the best in the business to grace a stage. We caught them at the start of their current tour at the usually-staid Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara, and they managed, against all odds and history, to (get this) pull the Lobero crowd out of their chairs and rushing the stage. Seriously. Cardiacs, all around. Live they exhibit versatility and panache, and always manage to connect with their audience. The band has been reconfigured since their last tour and now features guitarist Trevor Meanere. At the Lobero, Meanere managed to remind us of Wilco’s Nels Cline and possibly eclipse him (highest compliments intended). And bassist Wylie Gelber always impresses with his deft walks. But it’s always the songwriting, interplay and harmonies of the Brothers Goldsmith (bandleader/songwriter Taylor and mega-talented drummer/harmonist Griffin) that regale so well.

To get a glimpse of Dawes live, check out below last night’s performance on Colbert of Roll with the Punches (off their most-recent, critically-acclaimed album We’re All Gonna Die). As we were saying, don’t miss ’em.

If you need more convincing afterwards, check out their performance of much-loved, singalong anthem When My Time Comes on PBS’ Front and Center.

One of our all-time faves and easily at the top of America’s best bands, Spoon, appeared on Jimmy Kimmel last night and performed the flam-batious new song Hot Thoughts, the title track to their imminent new album. Watch below as the band shralps and swaggers through the song. In honor of International Women’s Day, each band member showed a spoonful of red in their outfits. Check it out below. We love the moment at 1:42 when 23-year veteran Britt Daniel is overcome by the crowd’s reaction and breaks into a smile. Great to see this veteran band still in ascendancy.

We continue, unsurprisingly, to discover great music coming from across the proverbial pond. Loyle Carner (given initially as Benjamin Coyle-Larner), is a 21-year old British rap/soul music artist from South London doing his best to transcend rap music’s stereotypical drugs, guns and Rosies. On his new album, Yesterday’s Gone, Carner instead regularly lifts up his family, imagines having a little sister (Florence), laments the load of responsibility and bread-winning (Ain’t Nothing Changed), pays tribute to musical fore-bearers (No CD), and grapples with faith and father figures (The Isle of Arran). Throughout Carner caps his craft with stupendous wordplay and musical aplomb.

Check out a few of Loyle Carner’s songs below via their official videos. While our favorite track is the jazz-smoke of Ain’t Nothing Changed, in honor of International Women’s Day, we’ll lead with Florence (his imagined little sister).

In other good news, Carner is set to tour the Continent, Australia, and (for the first time) the U.S., and will make his California debut in mid-May in LA and San Francisco. You can see the dates above and HERE, and we’ll see you there!

You can pick up Yesterday’s Gone HERE.