When Matt Costa sat down to write what would become UNFAMILIAR FACES (the follow-up to his 2005 debut full-length SONGS WE SING) the singer/songwriter took his most treasured belongings and put them on a shelf - the collection included his favorite books, a giant wooden pipe, and a box of old 45-speed records from the late 1950s - then he stared at them and let the memories and his imagination flow. UNFAMILIAR FACES finds Costa wrapping his appealing melodies in increasingly ambitious packages that recall the Shins, Spoon and Ben Folds. Though Costa’s sound has a sunny, bouncy vibe, he is definitely not afraid to get introspective.