Summer may be coming to a close for most of the country, but anyone who has ventured to Southern California knows that summer often lingers well into the autumn months. Appropriately, Best Coast hails from Los Angeles and seeks to keep the summer alive year round with their debut album, Crazy For You.
Call it Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello redux if you like, but Bethany Cosentino (formerly of Pocahaunted) and Bobb Bruno (former babysitter of Cosentino) have seemingly revived the Surf-Rock genre without succumbing to saccharine stereotypes. Sunshine-laden lyrics reflect random musings between friends on a lazy summer day along with unabashed emotional honesty. The voice of Bethany Cosentino has a fuzzy echo allowing it to be all at once distant yet familiar.
The music is uncomplicated and seems easy enough to replicate if you have a guitar and tambourine handy. There is a raw, low-fi, unfinished quality about it that can place it in the garage of any teenage neighborhood. Indie Pop melodies and hum worthy hooks make this album inherently likable by anyone who is a fan of a day at the beach.
Carefree and innocent, sunny and genuinely charming, the songs of Best Coast are the embodiment of your favorite summer days.
Does surf-rock need to stay in the 60s? Can you see Best Coast making another record with a similar vibe while maintaining some originality?
If you like: The Beach Boys, Vampire Weekend, Rilo Kiley
Check out: Best Coast
Feeling brave: Jenny and Johnny, Coconut Records, She & Him, Belle and SebastianAI level: Beginner