Benji Cossa, Vault: Volume 1

reviewed by dave heaton

"There's so many ways we can screw the rules" - Benji Cossa, "Bonafide American Dudes"

Oh, to dig through the basements and closets of the world, to organized a mass unearthing of all the great music that's been created but remains hidden from the light of the day, in danger of never being heard. That's one of the dreams of us music obsessives, who know that more amazing music is being created than we'll ever hear, and that so many could-have-been legends never circulate their music outside of a small circle of friends (if even). Benji Cossa is one of those home-recording genuises, whose songs have no doubt brightened up the days of his friends in Portland, but might not have ever reached our ears.

Three cheers for Magic Marker Records, then, who have released Benji Cossa's Vault: Volume 1, a collection of 17 songs recorded between 1995 and 2000. The timespan and volume number suggest that there's much more to be heard, but for now this is what we have, and it's splendid enough. The label suggests Jonathan Richman-meets-Mountain Goats as a starting descriptor, and while that doesn't accurately get at the whole of Cossa's musical personality, it does give a sense of his exuberance, directness, and sensitivity, plus his skill at carefully crafting melodies while recording them roughly, so they sound spontaneous, like they just popped into his head and he needed to get them down. There's a child-like sense of joy to his performances, too, like he's having a hell of a time playing his songs. He whistles, he yelps, he sings with glee (occasionally sounding more like a crooner of pop standards, rather than the folk-pop singer he might be categorized as).

In the most general sense, many of the songs on Vault: Vol. 1 are bittersweet love songs, though also imaginative ones. They're often simple and direct - "Another Man" is a disarmingly straightforward attempt at getting to the truth. Yet Cossa also can set quite the vivid scene - "Ferris Wheel" offers a Springsteen-esque feeling that we're in the moment that he's describing. And he at times will rely on a unique metaphor, or inject abstract words with a feeling of directness. He takes the lines "When you said our love was like lightning / here comes the thunder / and I'm afraid of the noise" and turns them into a larger-than-life rock singalong chorus on one song. Singalong hooks are a big part of these songs' charm, by the way - a song like "Homesick", with the sentiment "like nothing in my life / you're allright" is perfectly made to be sung along to, with a great hook and that chill-inducing mix of sadness-in-the-present and hope-for-the-future. Plus it's short, ready to be played to death, to become your new companion.

I won't deny that there are plenty of home-recorders and DIY musicians that are producing music I'd never want to hear, or never want to hear again. I praise amateur-ism as a practice, as a way of thinking, but that certainly doesn't mean all amateur musicians are worth your time. But there's also so much talent out there that's flying under the radar, and Vault is one more reminder of that. Benji Cossa's songs are sweet and imminently memorable - his "Off My Mind" chorus "I can't get you off my mind" applies well to these songs. Here's hoping this isn't the last time his vault of recordings is opened...

{www.magicmarkerrecords.com}