There must be some sort of Extreme Sport Fairy Godmother out there, because Matt Costa's story is almost too unbelievable to be true. The one-time skateboarder who occasionally dabbled in music had a terrible accident and damaged his leg. While laid-up, he channeled his skating passion into songwriting, and realised that music was his true calling. He demoed some songs which were picked up, honed and produced by No Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont, released his debut album independently, which was eventually picked up by… Jack Johnson. Who was once full-time surfer, until he had a terrible accident which.. well, you get the idea. Before the Johnson-haters amongst you are completely turned off by the mere idea of Costa, however, bear in mind that this 25-year old Californian has a more eclectic palate than his label-boss and, if it means anything to you, has supported 'credible' indie bands such as Built to Spill and Pinback over the course of his brief career. Unfamiliar Faces is his second album, and although it's far from life- or even day-changing, for the most part it provides a hummable, digestible buffet of pop-rock songs. On the surface, it sounds like Costa would like to assume the quirk of songwriters like Brendan Benson, but these songs are far too straightforward for that. He does manage to employ a distinctly British, almost Beatles-like sound to tracks like the jaunty jangle of Mr. Pitiful and Trying To Lose My Mind, though, and elsewhere dabbles in rich, rollicking Americana (Emergency Call, Never Looking Back) and the uptempo guitar-pop of Crowded House or Tom Petty (Lilacs, and Cigarette Eyes respectively). By the last third of Unfamiliar Faces, though, Costa's sound has became a little too over-familiar; but for fans of any of his obvious aforementioned influences, this should hit the spot nicely.
