Cosmo Topper - Cosmo Topper's 1979 (2026) [Hi-Res]

Cosmo Topper is an American rock project and the solo venture of Los Angeles-based keyboardist and vocalist Morley Bartnoff. The band was formed in 2001 in Los Angeles, California. The project's name refers to the main character of the classic American novel and 1950s fantasy sitcom, banker Cosmo Topper. The group's musical style combines elements of power-pop, indie rock, and California alternative rock. Founder Morley Bartnoff previously gained recognition as the keyboardist for the American band Burning Sensations. Despite its solo status, Bartnoff has regularly recruited well-known veterans of the Los Angeles music scene for studio recordings and live performances. Over the years, the lineup of musicians has included guitarist Probyn Gregory, who toured with Brian Wilson of the legendary The Beach Boys and the rock band The Eels, as well as drummer Brian Glascock from the original lineup of The Motels. The project's debut studio album, "Pure Fast Vibration," was released in 2001 and received an official colored vinyl reissue in 2022. Following a long hiatus, the band returned to active studio work, releasing the EP "The Motel Cosmo Topper Collection" in 2023 and the live release "The Odyssey Records EP" in 2024. On October 23, 2026, the independent label Kool Kat Musik released their new full-length album, "Cosmo Topper’s 1979," which consists entirely of cover versions of classic power-pop tracks from the late 1970s.

Cosmo explains “This isn’t a nostalgia record. I was there, and my life runs directly through these songs and many of the people who created them. I came out of the same Los Angeles musical community, recording, writing and performing with Bugs Tomorrow, Andy and the Rattlesnakes, Burning Sensations and Dramarama, and later working alongside Tony Award winners Stew and Heidi Rodewald. With Bugs Tomorrow, I co-wrote ‘Summercamp,’ which I’ve reclaimed here. With Burning Sensations, I went from the Los Angeles clubs to Capitol Records and the MTV exposure of ‘Belly of the Whale.’ These nine songs aren’t simply favorites. They represent friendships, stages and experiences that have intersected with my musical life for more than four decades. Those connections are everywhere. The Pop’s Tim Henderson plays his original Arista-era bass and sings harmonies on this record. Plimsouls guitarist Eddie Muñoz later joined my band Daisychain, where we actually played ‘A Million Miles Away’ together. Peter Case and I have shared the stage multiple times, and years earlier I interviewed him for Yeah Yeah Yeah. John Wicks of The Records became a dear friend, and Steve Allen of 20/20 and I have played together. Then there’s The Knack. Before I joined Tim Piper and Greg Piper’s production of the John Lennon rock theatrical ‘Just Imagine’, Tim took me into Doug Fieger’s studio, where we recorded three songs. Doug appreciated my playing, and I saw firsthand what a terrific producer he was. Later, when ‘Pure Fast Vibrations’ came out, Knack drummer Bruce Gary heard it, called me and said, ‘If you ever need a drummer, please hire me. I’d love to play music with you.’ Most recently, Berton Averre and I have become friends on Threads. So when I play The Knack’s ‘Let Me Out,’ I’m not simply covering a song I loved in 1979. There’s a lifetime attached to it. Robbie Rist - one of power pop’s great musicians and champions - plays drums on two songs and appears as a guest vocalist on another. We aren’t trying to reproduce the originals note for note. We’re treating them as living music: rearranging them, reimagining them and reconnecting them to the electricity that made us fall in love with them. From The Knack, The Records, The Pop, 20/20, The Plimsouls, The Motels and Bram Tchaikovsky to my own Bugs Tomorrow, this album is about something larger than nine songs. It’s about a remarkable musical moment and the friendships and creative relationships that survived it. This isn’t a covers album about a world I wish I’d experienced. I lived in that world, and more than four decades later, those people, songs and connections are still part of my life - because sometimes the past isn’t behind us at all; sometimes it’s waiting to be rediscovered. GREAT!!