Singer/guitarist Maxwell Moore and drummer Raney Aboud were having some difficulty figuring out a name for their fledgling garage-rock duo when genius finally struck.

“We both love the show Seinfeld, so I had the idea of George Costanza’s face floating in space, and then it came to me,” Moore said of the decision to call themselves Cosmostanza. “I called Raney that moment, and he loved it, too. We just went with it.”

It’s the type of name that is an obvious fit for the fun-loving, but seriously well-written music the pair has produced in less than a year as a band. Inspired heavily by similarly tawdry rock acts Wavves, Ty Segall and Jeff the Brotherhood, the two have still managed — bringing in elements of My Bloody Valentine and Girls — to find their own way.

“We bring a new kind of turn on a genre that is loved by a lot of people,” Moore said. “We just wanted to make music that was fun for us to play and for people to listen to. Fun is still the most important thing to us as a band.”

Cosmostanza was born out of a lifelong friendship, filled with plenty of jokes, retro video games, anime and, of course, music. It was Moore watching his brother Garland play in Oklahoma City ska-rock act Sunny Side Up that finally convinced him to play music himself, and Aboud was more than willing to dive in with him.

Within just a few months, the two had written enough for their charmingly lo-fi debut, Rad Vibes, the cover of which encapsulates the tunes within to a T.

“We wanted to make a cover that was fun and represents us,” Moore said. “When you look at the cover art, you get us and an idea of what you are about to listen to. Cats, robes, and hanging out is what we are all about.”

After Saturday’s free outdoor concert as part of Grannyfest in the Plaza District, Cosmostanza will continue working on material for its second release, due sometime early next year. Naturally, the recording process isn’t too strenuous.

“We recorded Rad Vibes at Raney’s house, so we will probably just do that again,” Moore said. “We really like the lo-fi sound we get from it, and it’s really fun to do. When we finished recording each day, we would play pool volleyball. Music and pools are the best combination.”

Hey! Read This:
Cosmostanza's Rad Vibes album review  
Jeff the Brotherhood interview  
Sunny Side Up interview  

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