Music

PREMIERE: Listen to Special Costello's new EP, 'Strange Beauty'

by Jesse Locke

May 16, 2016

Halifax's Special Costello continues to stop the clock on his dreamy new EP.

I’ve been swooning over the clock-stopping pop songs of Jeremy “Special” Costello since the first time I heard his 11-minute opus “Music and Image” in 2012. In the last four years, the Haligonian heartthrob has continued to deliver some of the most emotionally resonant work this side of Gig Masin or Julee Cruise and Angelo Badalamenti. His latest EP, Strange Beauty, is no different, and we’ve got it streaming below.

“I recorded these songs in my home over the course of the winter, mostly taking place in my bedroom,” Costello explains over email. “They are a little disjointed as far as thematic connection. ‘Dreams of the Apocalypse’ is one theme that comes to mind and loosely applies to all of them. Lyrical topics include drone warfare, modern love (gets me to the church on time), dreams, nightmares, isolation, and fear.”

While previous Special Costello releases have seen him collaborate with guitarist David Burns of Surveillance and sax/drums wunderkind Nick Dourado (Century Egg, XXVII), this five-song EP is a true solo release. Costello also says these songs were cleansed in the waters of a recently deceased superstar, plus a few scrolling shooters.

“All of the recording, playing, and writing were done by yours truly,” he says. “My influences at the time were Prince heavy, thats for sure. My psychic influences were video games like Tyrian and Raptor, hence the video game vibes of the song ‘Collateral’ and my sick high scores, hehe.”