Album of the Week: Kosmetika ‘Luxury’

Album of the Week: Kosmetika 'Luxury'

Our featured album this week is “Luxury” by Melbourne post punk/new wave/art pop band Kosmetika.

With ‘Luxury’, Kosmetika turned to a more studio-focused record, with all five members contributing vocals and song ideas. As a result, they crafted a diverse and detailed 10 tracks, channeling a combination of their two previous releases, an eclectic album that blends together Krautrock, New Wave, Punk, Disco, and Pop..

Lead single, ‘PicturesAre Gone,’ sits somewhere between the last record’s 80s melancholy new wave and some of the faster-paced pop tracks. It features Veeka Nazarova (Illustration’s vocalist), who delivers her trademark new-wave-tinged pop, as heard on album singles ‘Automobile’ and ‘Halp’.

The LP moves from full-throttle guitar pop with Michael Ellis’ lead tunes ‘Fish’ and ‘Make It Good’ to punk-leaning “Reward Risk”, led by Jake Suriano. Also heading into more Krautrock terrain, ‘Silver Streak’ and ‘Kosmetika Strikes Back’, lead by Dom Moore and James Lynch, respectively, demonstrate the band’s ability to balance continuously driven guitar pieces with pleasant moments of relief.

Luxury is a record with so many influences and input that still manages to avoid any confusion in it’s ultimate goal, and comes together as an important collaborative marker in Kosmetika’s increasingly impressive discography.

Favourite tracks: Reward Risk, Halp, Silver Streak, Pictures Are Gone, Automobile, IJWSHIFFO…

Luxury” is out now via Spoilsport Records. Buy it here and stream it below.

“Luxury” Tracklist:

  1. Kosmetika Strikes Back
  2. Reward Risk
  3. Fish
  4. Halp
  5. Silver Streak
  6. Pictures Are Gone
  7. Make It Good
  8. Automobile
  9. Mirror
  10. IJWSHIFFO