Mondo Cozmo at the Mercury Lounge

Joshua Ostrander began playing music in the group Ty Cobb in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He formed the alt-rock Radiohead-sounding band Laguardia in 2000, also based in Philadelphia, and released an album. His next band, an indie rock trio called Eastern Conference Champions (also known as ECC), toured and recorded from 2005 to 2015, and was the band that relocated him to Los Angeles, California, his present base. Ostrander launched a solo career under the name Mondo Cozmo in 2016, creating his name from the title of John Waters' film Mondo Trasho and his dog's name, Cozmo. "Shine" hit #1 on Billboard's Adult Alternative Songs chart in January 2017, but Mondo Cozmo has not yet released an album.

Backed tonight at the Mercury Lounge by the Philadelphia-based group Illinois, Cozmo performed a half hour of chorus-heavy folk-rock songs. Cozmo sang with the earthiness of an early Bob Dylan, yet sometimes rocked the walls like he was from Asbury Park. Songs built to a crescendo with choruses so repetitive that it would be hard not to know the title of the song by the time he was done. This was particularly emphasized with his last song, a seven-minute version of "Shine," on which he brought out a six-member choir to chant "let ’em get high; let ’em get stoned; everything will be alright if you let it go" for close to five of those seven minutes. The songs were epic in their performance, and promise to gain him a swift following. One can only hope that when he returns he will play more than six songs.

Visit Mondo Cozmo at www.mondocozmo.com.

Setlist

1. Chemical Dream
2. Sixes and Sevens
3. Higher
4. Plastic Soul
5. Hold On To Me
6. Shine