Special Costello

Next up, Special Costello took the opportunity to blow all our minds with their unconventional bass and drums weirdo pop songs. Jeremy Costello (who apparently studied to become an opera singer, if what I overheard at the bar was correct) had an incredibly unique sense of melody, but boy did it ever worm its way deep into the pleasure centre of my brain. His partner in crime, also named Nick, relentlessly battered his drums with the grace of a jazz great and the ferocity of an inebriated orangutan. Did I mention they wore clown makeup? - Dorian - Cinema L'Amour

7. SPECIAL COSTELLO Craft Single
(Craft Singles)

Somebody at Weird Canada, my partner Pammy included, needs to pen this one to the pages. There were very few recordings in 2012 that stood out with as much powerful emotion as this 20 minute Special Costello release. Opening a business of any kind is a struggle, I gotta think 'niche business' is a step worse, and over this past year when there's been a tear in my beer, other than Hank (and Women's 'Public Strain'), there's very little that comforts better than this joyous tearjerker. This 3 song Craft Single makes me love the world in the darkest hours. Maybe it'll help get you thru the day too! Obviously I strongly suggest you make it part of your routine. - Hot Dog London

The evening started promisingly enough with Special Costello. Frontman Jeremy Costello strummed and plucked chords on his fuzzed-out bass and sang in a keening voice not unlike Craig Wedren's, while the guitarist played his amp as much as his axe. Costello's songs combined pop melodies with spiky, unsurprisingly bass-heavy arrangements, giving a postpunk punch to what could have devolved into whining emo. The set hit an odd high note when the guitarist's amp gave out - Costello ably carried both the melodic and rhythm load alone, leaving the six-stringer's use to the band in doubt. By the time he'd set up a borrowed amp, the performance was over and Special Costello had proven themselves worthy of continued attention. - Michael Toland - Blurt

Here’s a new one from the always enjoyable Craft Singles coffers: Special Costello, all the way from Halifax, bring us a starry bellow called ‘Music & Image’. This twelve minute incantation taps into the same heart wrenching neural correlates as The Antlers or My Morning Jacket commonly exercise. Resplendent pianos are bathed in howling amp feedback as singer Jeremy Costello’s vocals float over the melee like a lonesome buoy at night. - Arguejob

On its second physical release, Special Costello digs up the dirt and hollows out a craggy, fuzzed-out bunker somewhere in outer-space. The shifting, boisterous clusters of song rumble with filthy bass and lash out with clanging drum patterns. Singer Jeremy Costello’s majestic vocals get the Dr. Frank Poole treatment: floating around suffocated somewhere out in the airglow. Highlights include centerpieces “Sleppin” and “Scorpheus,” where the duo’s demented artlang boils down to show the deep tenderness and consideration at its core. Without clear coordinates or a map into or out of the bunker, Special Costello have busied themselves refining a curious kind of cabin fever. - Andrew Patterson

There is something incredibly direct and moving about Special Costello’s music. It has a grandiosity not dissimilar to Grizzly Bear’s louder moments. It can bowl you over with bravado and mange to charm the pants off of you at the very same time. Singer Jeremy Costello’s soaring vocals figure heavily into the duo’s cinematic certitude while multi-instrumentalist Nick Dourado’s deft playing unfolds the vision effortlessly. Side one is an 11-minute amble that breezes by in dulled, reflective meditation. Side two digs in its heels and grits its teeth to great effect. This is a stellar document of a stunning band. - Andrew Patterson