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“Songs We Sing”

Sounds like: Jack Johnson, Ben Harper

For someone who hasn’t even reached his mid-20s, singer/songwriter Matt Costa has a lot to sing about.

In his recently re-released album, “Songs We Sing,” the Huntington Beach native lets his laid-back Southern Californian vibe shine through as he tackles relationships, love and even road trips.

While these subjects have been sung about a thousand times, Costa is able to make every lyric sound fresh and each topic original. This should come as no surprise because he’s had some influential mentors. Tom Dumont of No Doubt was the first to notice Costa’s catchy tunes and it wasn’t long before the young musician was signed onto Jack Johnson’s label, Brushfire Records. Soon, Costa was opening for Johnson on both his summer and European tours. Costa even had the opportunity to perform the duet “Lullaby” with the balladeer for the soundtrack to the children’s film, “Curious George.”

For “Songs We Sing,” Costa expresses himself as he laments about a lover who isn’t coming home. In the opening track “Cold December,” he sings, “All the birds are heading down south but you’re staying up north you say / I’ve got jackets, blankets and sheets, it’s going to be a cold December.”

In “Yellow Taxi,” he sings about a girl he met and how he needs a woman in his life. “She was standing next to me / I looked alone she took me home / In her arms I laid my head / She listened to everything I said.”

It’s Costa’s sincerity that keeps his heartfelt songwriting approach from sounding contrived or overly saccharine. “Songs We Sing” does justice to Costa’s brand of honest, sensitive music and will have devoted fans coming back for more and new audiences relishing in his poetic style.

-Assistant Tempo Editor Maggie Grainger

-‘Songs We Sing’ is currently available in stores.