Ways of Letting Go

Kosmøs is: Ben Tonak: vocals, guitars Tim Tonak: bass Josh Tufte: drums Built around the songwriting of frontman Ben Tonak, Kosmøs is a band whose sound exists in the space between arena rock accessibility and garage band sensibility. Originally from Wyoming, brothers Ben and Tim Tonak recruited drummer James Lovelace after moving to Denver in 2004. The band spent two years producing their debut album, Ways of Letting Go (Nov. 2006), which has drawn favorable comparisons to a diverse range of bands, from Death Cab for Cutie to Radiohead to early Everclear. A pre-production demo of the album brought high praise from Rhonda Kelley of Rainmaker Publicity (Guster), "I get about 125 CDs in here every month, and this is one of the top five for the year. You should be proud of this. I think it is beautiful and heartbreakingly good." The band has shown tenacity and dedication by paying for the entire album out of their own pockets. The album was recorded at Maximum Joy Studios (formerly Avalanche) in Denver, a facility where many national acts such as Sarah McLachlan, INXS, and Kenny Loggins have recorded. It is rumored that the likes of the Rolling Stones also recorded tracks in the facility. The album was matered by Ed Brooks (Death Cab for Cutie, Minus the Bear, Pearl Jam) at Seattle's RFI/CD. Frontman, Ben Tonak, who produced the album, says of the project, 'We worked a long time to get this thing right, and I'm happy with the results. I'm a perfectionist, and while the album will never be perfect, I actually like listening to it myself, which is saying a lot.' The outlook for the new material has those close to the band excited for the future. Steve McElhenny, owner of Maximum-Joy studios, said of the band's new material, "We record a lot of projects here because we have to pay the bills, but this project is one that I will enjoy listening to in my car on the way to work." Kosmøs is confident that listeners will agree.