MATT COSTA’s latest effort comes in the wake of his critically acclaimed 2006 debut, Songs We Sing, and 2008’s well-received Unfamiliar Faces. His sophomore set yielded the breakout single “Mr. Pitiful,” which featured prominently in the hit comedy I Love You, Man and an iTunes ad campaign, and sent him criss-crossing the globe for well over a year. There were stints with Death Cab for Cutie and Modest Mouse, as well as a high- profile tour with Oasis and Ryan Adams & the Cardinals.

Mobile Chateau began to take shape during a tour break in France in 2009. While Matt was hanging out near Tulle, songs just started pouring out of him – and they didn’t stop. By the time he got to Paris, he was armed with a strong clutch of tunes, but he wasn’t anywhere near finished. A day spent wandering through the Orsay Museum yielded the gentle folk ballad “Painted Face.”

All of the songs were influenced by the passing of Costa’s uncle, who had been a guiding light during his formative years. “He’s the one that turned me onto all the music that I'm into now,” Costa divulges. “Mobile Chateau is a result of his guidance, because he steered me on the right track to the right bands. So I wanted to make sure that these songs honored him. I feel that records are messages from the other side, so it seemed a fitting way to do that.”