Justin & The Cosmics

Cool Dead (2023) is Justin Collins' self-produced masterpiece. As punk as a freight train, as country as a weed-wacker, and, if you’re smart enough to know it, downright terrifying in its beauty, the 12-song record slashes its way out of your speakers like The Cosmics' live show yet soars like an eagle with talons gripping your sad little heart. From the most recent single, the instant punk classic “Asshole Eyes,” to the album’s epic condemnation of pop culture worship, “Am I Supposed To Care So Much” (with stylistic nods to both Lou Reed and David Bowie’s “Heroes”), to a lonesome and forgotten tune written by Collins’ friend (and Margo Price co-writer) Caitlin Rose, Cool Dead is a record for these times and the record that everyone around Nashville knew that Justin and The Cosmics would one day deliver. Collins is a fixture on the Nashville underground scene and has produced records by Deer Tick, Diamond Rugs, Nikki Lane, T Hardy Morris, Middle Brother, and many others. He’s been on David Letterman. Pat Sansone, of Wilco, produced his last record and Elvis Costello is a fan. Justin & The Cosmics toured Australia in 2018, opening for Deer Tick.