Mondo Cozmo Shares the Stories and Sounds Behind His ‘Your Motherfucker’ EP

Philadelphia-born, Los Angeles-based rocker Josh Ostrander records under the name Mondo Cozmo and highlights notable pages from the American songbook, and condenses them into sweeping, anthemic numbers. In his music, you can hear the emotive, unifying spirit of Springsteen, the timeless vocal stylings of Dylan, and the alternative rock aesthetic of The Verve, all set over electronic flourishes and indie dance templates that give the sound a contemporary, millennial spin. Ostrander made an enormous impact with his 2017 debut “Plastic Soul,” scoring a number one hit with his single “Shine.”

Mondo Cozmo’s new EP compresses all of the diverse elements of Ostrander’s signature sound into four songs, and amps up the intensity with bold production, even bolder lyrics, and the outrageous title, “Your Motherfucker.” If you’re wondering what exactly he was thinking in making this choice, you’re in luck, as Ostrander met with Entertainment Voice and shed light upon everything. We got into the lyrics, sounds, and inspirations of the new songs, explored the new musical direction, and touched upon Ostrander’s other recent undertakings.

Your moniker “Mondo Cozmo” comes from John Waters film “Mondo Trasho” and your dog’s name “Cozmo.” Please expand on the name choice, and what it was about that particular film that made enough of an impact on you to make its way into your name?

Yeah, my dog’s name is “Cozmo,” and when I started this, I came from a band called “Eastern Conference Champions,” which was a great band name, but it was really tough when you had to make a t-shirt or anything like that, because it was so long. So when I started “Mondo Cozmo,” I was like, “Man, I just want a cool name that’s short, and would look good on a t-shirt, and I want it to rhyme.” That was my whole thing. And I was watching that John Waters movie, which is a terrible movie. It was one of his first movies. But I thought, “What a great name!” And I was like, “Oh, I’ll just call my band ‘Mondo Trasho,’” and I’m like “I can’t do that,” and then I’m like, “Oh, my dog’s name is ‘Cozmo,’ I’ll just call it ‘Mondo Cozmo.’”  

To address the elephant in the room, your new EP, “Your Motherfucker,” obviously has a rather provocative title. What was the thought process behind that particular choice of words on the title track?  

I wrote the song in like eight minutes. It was one of those, when I was on the run. I had the first couple lines come to me. It was one of those when I just wrote it all out in my head, and I had to grab a pen. The “lover” line, “I wanna be your lover,” and then I thought of the next line, “I wanna be your ride and die bitch,” and I was like, “Oh that’s so great,” and then I was like, “What am I going to rhyme with ‘lover?’” and I’m like, “Oh my god,” “I wanna be your motherfucker,” you know what I mean? Oh man, it’s so cool. And then, I was just like, “I should call this song ‘Your Motherfucker,’” because it’s this weird juxtaposition. It’s truly just a love song, and it’s got a terrible title, and I love the idea of that. I hope people get that from it because my mom didn’t She’s not a fan of that song.

On the title track, the lyrics, “I wanna be your Elvis, I wanna be your Jagger,” eventually culminate in “I wanna be your mother fucker.” Was this in the vein of Pulp Fiction-style “bad motherfucker,” just a term with some edge and grit?

(Laughs) Yeah, absolutely. I would love for someone to tell me they want to be my motherfucker. I think that’s awesome. That’s a sign of love.

Another striking lyric from the title track is “(I wanna be) the moonlight that kills the sun.” Please expand on this line. What are your thoughts on day versus night atmosphere, and its bearing on the theme of the song?

I just love the idea of just the imagery of that, of the sun being killed by the moonlight. I don’t know, I just thought it was powerful when I listened to it. I’ve been using nature references in my stuff since I was a kid.

You seem to have a knack for writing anthemic, catchy songs. Your previous single “Shine” comes to mind, as does the new song “Tonight Tonight.” Where do you find the inspiration to craft such songs? And how much of a role would you say the legacy of Springsteen has in the process?

Oh my gosh, he was my everything growing up, man, because I grew up in Philly, so he was from across the river. So he was like gospel to us. Springsteen is everything. Lyrically, I try. I study him. I really do. He’s just a genius at conveying conviction and just beauty and love and desire. He’s very, very good at that, and I love that. I’m just a fan. And how he can bring people together with his words. It’s incredible, the career and how diverse that guy is. So yeah, he’s definitely a huge influence, and you can hear it on tracks like “Tonight Tonight” with lyrics that are completely off of, like, “Asbury Park.” But I love the idea of that song, like the world could end any morning. And the idea of the song was, “We could die in a nuclear bomb tomorrow, but I’d still like to take you out for a drink tonight.”

“Tonight Tonight” has some wild imagery in the line, “Kiss me on the lips like a cigarette / Pressed between your thumb and your innocence.” It certainly seems to express a feeling effectively, but the whole “cigarette” and “innocence” bit is pretty cryptic. What were you trying to say?

I’ll tell you what, man. I quit smoking four years ago, and it’s all I think about. I don’t know (laughs). I just wrote it real quick. It was something on my mind, I guess.

Echoes of Bob Dylan can be heard in much of your music, most notably on the new EP in “Hey Steven.” What does Dylan mean to you and what are your thoughts on the comparison?

That’s great. I don’t totally get it, but I love it (laughs). I know sometimes, I’ll curl a note, which I know he does a lot — like how you end a line, vocally, like I’ll be lazy with it. I just know when I do it, it’s like, “Oh, that was like Dylan.” So I find myself doing that, and I have to back off, because I’m like, “Oh, careful” (laughs). Chris Martin will do it too. I hear a lot of songwriters do it. I think it’s just an ode to Dylan, I guess. It’s cool because a lot of people say that it reminds them of Dylan, and what a cool thing to be compared to. I love it.  

Who is the titular “Steven” in your song “Hey Steven?” Are the lyrics about, or based on, a particular person? 

(Laughs) Steven is my manager. He’s a really close friend, and the “Mondo Cozmo” thing is kind of like him and I, like everything we do. We talk a lot. He was living in the UK at the time, and I lived in Los Angeles. I picked three friends to reference in that song, and Steven was the first. In the second verse, it was this guy called “Big Z.” That was my nickname for my old friend from my old band. And then, the third one is my friend Jay, who lives in the UK too, and we used to live in a basement together and write songs. But I since switched out the Jay for a guy named Jamesy, because he was my keyboard player, and he quit the band, so if you see it live, you’ll hear a different name.   

There’s plenty of talk about the alternative rock and folk elements of your music, but there is also a considerable indie dance / electronic element. How much dance / electronic music do you listen to, and do any particular artists in that genre come to mind?

Yeah, I listen to that more than alternative music, to be honest with you. I’m an old school Beastie Boys guy. I’m a huge fan of them. I love DJ Shadow. I love bands like Kasabian. I just like that vibe, and honestly, we played a lot of shows last year, and when you play shows, it’s fun to play those songs, because they make people happy. So I kept that in mind when I went back to writing, like, if we’re going to be touring for the rest of my life, what do people want to hear, and also what’s going to make my band amazing, and kill these shows? So I wanted to make sure to keep songs like that up our sleeve.

If you had to really put your finger on it, how would you say your new EP differs from your previous work in terms of musical style, lyricism, aesthetic, attitude, etc? How would you describe your evolution?

I just think it’s the next step, especially sonically and production-wise. I worked with some pretty big guys on these tunes, and I was a little out of my comfort zone, but also, I wouldn’t have gotten “Motherfucker” if I didn’t do that. And I worked on “Tonight Tonight” with a guy called John Hill, who’s a pretty big producer. I’m a huge fan of him. There’s that aspect, where the production is better than me recording it in my guest bedroom, but I think, honestly, this is just a continuum. This is what I’ve been doing since I was a kid, and I’m just going to keep doing — write lyrics that are true to me. However it finds itself into the headphones, I don’t know, but I’m excited to see what happens.

My whole thing from day one was let’s not put any parameters on the sound or anything, because I just feel like as soon as I do that, we’re limiting ourselves in what we can pull off and accomplish. I mean, maybe the next record is going to be a fuckin’ rap record or heavy metal. I have no idea, but I’m not going to say I’m not going to do that. I think with great music, you need to take risks, and stuff like that. That’s why we decided to call the record “Your Motherfucker.” Like alright, a lot of people are not going to like this. It’s really going to hurt us on Spotify and Apple probably, but you know what? Let’s do what we feel is right in our heart, and this is the right thing to do.

Your last full length was titled “Plastic Soul.” That term was used in the ‘60s by black soul musicians to describe the music of British invasion acts like the Stones. Paul McCartney initially wanted to use it as a Beatles album title, but eventually changed it to “Rubber Soul.” The lyrics of your song “Plastic Soul” don’t seem to be related to this though. What led you to choose it as an album title?

(Laughs) I didn’t really know that Paul McCartney referenced that title before. I called it that because I read a thing about David Bowie referencing his music as “plastic soul.” I wrote the song the weekend Bowie passed away, so I called it “Plastic Soul.”  

Your Motherfucker” is available June 29 on Apple Music. All tour dates and tickets are here.