I can remember hearing the drawling hook of Boyfriend, from Best Coast’s 2010 debut release Crazy for You pumping over the sound system of the retail store where I was serving a sentence at the time. It was summery and cute but also made me feel that utterly saddening longing you can sometimes feel at the height of summer for no reason; like you want to experience everything in the world: every party, every boy, every warm breeze and fluorescent sunset – but you know you never will.
I bought the album, straight away. I liked it…..kind of….mostly….OK I was expecting way more! It just seemed as if each song had been layered with a synthetic distortion to point where it came across as less of a conscious audio-aesthetic decision and more of a muffling, lo-fi comfort blanket, whispering: “we’re new at this, don’t listen too closely…I’m sorry”.
Obviously there are exceptions to this; the beautiful lamentatious Our Deal and the drop-out-Cali-cool-kid fun of Crazy for You and When I’m With You make this album definitely worth a listen. But the final verdict made me put the duo of Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno in my “don’t expect anything earthshattering from these, and try not to feel too bad about spending that tenner on it” pile. I was wrong.
This is probably the reason why I managed to remain completely unaware that they have since released another studio album. Over the last two years, I’ve sometimes thought to myself, “If only they would strip all of that shit off, I wonder what her voice actually sounds like?.....Does she really like cats that much?” So, when I gave their 2012 release The Only Place a cautious little sample listen on Amazon.co.uk there was one word to describe how I felt: goddamn elated!
The band has managed to retain their surfy, summery sound but the finishing has been stripped back and refined, probably partyly due to taking on Kanye West producer Jon Brion; this is a shinier, sleeker, more enjoyable Best Coast.
This is the first record in as long as I can remember where I am fully content to press play again the second it ends; I seriously cannot get enough of this ear candy in to my ear belly! The melodies are a just tipsy enough to spin around without falling over and we know Bethany loves her rhyming but rather than coming off as nursery-esque, they are instead cute, unpretentious, competent and totally attainable; and Cosentino’s lead vocals are more powerful and precise than I could have hoped for.
You don’t need to be a hardened indie lover, stoner-rock lover or any other kind of genre Nazi to get all over this, it just happens; and I defy and anyone who manages to not break a little smile when listening to the Go-Go’s flavoured opening track, ode to the West Coast, The Only Place:
“We’ve got the ocean,
Got the babes,
Got the sun,
We’ve got the waves!”
Someone get me to California!
What’s more, as Bethany is in her mid-late 20’s, she is old enough to ask her questions and speak her mind, without knowing entirely who she is yet; not only does this aid moments of genuine emotional depth but who doesn’t feel at least a little kindred to that feeling?
I know I’m a little late to the party but I for one feel reformed in my opinion of the group, as they have never realeased any of their earlier, rougher 7’s as album tracks it makes me think that they are becoming more aware of their direction.
Best Coast are beginning to guide their ship into clearer, fresher waters and now I for one can’t wait to see what they do next; because it’s going to be a bit special!
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