The Wake

When I first heard Chris Koza’s debut CD, Exit Pesce, I was blown away by the album’s consistency. It had the maturity of a well-planned record—something you don’t usually hear the first time around. His follow-up, titled Patterns, proves that the success of the first CD was more than just a fluke.

It was only recently that local critics started paying attention to Koza’s music. Several months after its release, Exit Pesce began to get good reviews, and Koza was named Best New Artist of 2005 at the Minnesota Music Awards. “It’s no big deal to me,” he says. “I haven’t gotten a free meal out of it or anything.” As his local fame began to grow in late 2005, the singer was already hard at work on the new album.

On April 1, Koza will play a CD release show at the Turf Club for Patterns. The disc prominently features Koza’s band, and is comprised of a lot of songs left over from his debut. “The hard decisions had to do with what songs to use,” he told me. Koza also says that making the record was a little more stressful this time around: “There weren’t any expectations last time…so I guess that was a difference heading into this record.”

Consistent from album to album are the clever lyrics, catchy melodies, and Koza’s clear, strong voice. There’s something persistent about his music. If you’re a passive listener, his songs will seep into your head without you knowing it, and if you listen carefully, the music will continue to surprise you with its seemingly infinite subtleties.

I was interested to know about Koza’s songwriting process. “There are several techniques that I try, but there’s not really one way that I write a song,” he says. This can be heard in his music, which varies stylistically from track to track, but retains an element of familiarity in the singer’s voice.

The increased presence of the band on Patterns shows that Koza’s songs work in a variety of musical settings. The mostly-acoustic sounds of his debut are fleshed out on the new album without being overwhelmed. This is due in large part to the talents of the other musicians. “They bring their own personal flare to the music,” says Koza of his band mates.

Drummer Luke Anderson uses tasteful beats and impressive flourishes to accentuate the rhythms heard in the guitars and vocals. Meanwhile, Justin Blair lays a steady foundation with his bass. Complimenting the overall sound is the electric guitar of Peter Sieve, whose playing offers dynamic and sonic contrasts to Patterns that were lacking on Exit Pesce.

Though they’ve gone through several name changes, these four musicians have been playing together for years. The quartet first went by the moniker Katnapping and then The Channels before deciding to use their singer’s name. “The music has changed a lot as we’ve changed names,” says Koza. “There’s a stylistic difference to this material.”

Patterns, in local stores on April 4, shows signs of a songwriter and a band that are increasingly confident in the music they’re making. As Koza continues to play shows and get his music heard in the Twin Cities, he says, “it gets better and better … it’s what I want to be doing every night of the year.” If Chris Koza continues to make records like Exit Pesce and Patterns, he may find himself doing just that.

Chris Koza is playing a CD release party for Patterns on April 1 at the Turf Club with Coach Said Not To and Fitzgerald.