Best Coast - The Only Place

Ask any cat loving, weed puffing, california dreaming music enthusiast what the perfect summer soundtrack is and I guarantee the answer will be “Crazy For You” by Best Coast. And with good reason. Their appearance on the music scene nearly two years ago brought the ultimate binocular-view into the typical mind of any teenager; lo-fi songs about heartbreak, having fun & the sun (obviously) with catchy choruses and plenty of “oooooohhhhh”’s that you can’t help but find yourself singing along to whether you want to or not.While it’s distinctive sound was what made the record, the only downside was that on a first listen the songs were arguably very same-y, so the question was, how will the sound progress from there?

The familiar chiming effect of the electric guitar greets you on the intro, however there is something more composed about it. It certainly feels like Bethany Cosentino and co. have steered clear of the sound of angst-fuelled streams of consciousness and moved more towards some sort of objective which doesn’t seem to have changed; singing the praises of the sunshine coast are what the band do best and we wouldn’t have them any other way.
It’s at the pre-chorus when things start to go downhill; the echoes of “yes we always, yes we always, we always have fun” sound sadly like the theme tune to a 90’s teen American drama. The kind that probably wouldn't get commissioned a second series. What certainly doesn’t help is newfound Dolly Parton inspired vocal changes that Bethany seems to have adopted, I almost regret my passing comment about the rest of the songs sounding same-y.

Thankfully, after that it’s easy to cast that aside and pretend it never happened, the rest of the song is back on form: catchy and sunny enough to make you almost forget how awful the weather is outside. Whilst it doesn’t quite live up to the standard of it’s predecessors, this teaser has certainly set up anticipations for the impending album release.
The thing that propelled them to popularity also had the potential to be a constricting precedent for the eagerly awaited sophomore album, but thankfully ‘The Only Place’ has ironically proved that there is definitely a journey up ahead for them. 

Bella Roach