Costume – Kosmos

Italian duo Costume returns with a new full length called Kosmos, a 12-track affair sporting an elegant bland of soothing electronics, evoking ambiances and cosmic atmospheres. MauSS and Claudia Placanica explore their love for oldschool elements and modern takes on electronic-pop with disco, house and techno influences once again, offering their brand of captivating songs to their listeners.

The title track is an apt introduction, moving slowing from astral soundscapes to enchanting vocals and droning, subtle beats. A sort of sacramental atmosphere open itself up to a groovy mantra. Intermission follows suit with a similar take, here evolved into an instrumental pastiche, a sort of bridge towards And You Were Beautiful and its rhythmic grandiosity upon which a game of restrain and release is unleashed. Sudden explosion of epic exhilaration complete the scene together with Claudia’s vocal delivery.

We have some collaborations on the album: the first one is Dragonfly with Eiga, a dreamy affair with eerie synths and guitar solos with a moody nature, while You Know Me is a frenzied techno-pop number featuring The Wild Weekend, a delicious track made for the dancefloor. Long-time collaborator Steve Jones offers his vocals on Turn It Up, Turn It down, a deep house-influenced experiment with nightly undertones and crawling structures, and on All This Beautiful People, a sleazy track with sci-fi lines and steady beats.

Magic Love shows the more atmospheric and melodic side of Costume, offering a moment full of melancholic synths and a powerful vocal performance from Claudia. Costume seems to recall some of early 2000’s dance music mojo, conjuring an obsessive rhythmic pattern with some robotic vocal interference upon the singer’s delivery.

After the last experimentation of Unus Spiritus Vol. 1 and 2, Costume returns to a more straight-forward but not banal approach, following their muse and showcasing their personal style. If you are new to the project, this could be a perfect place to become acquainted with them.

Release date: September 21st, 2020.

Text: Davide Pappalardo