Best Coast - California Nights
California Nights
Best Coast
Tiger Rating: 9.0 / 10
Surf Pop
Finally!!! Surf pop darlings Best Coast teased us for long enough with promises of new material. Fair enough, they were very generous last year with their 7 track EP (yes - a 7 track EP). That's really what whet our appetites though. Every track on 'Fade Away' was better than the last and overall hinted at a tighter, cleaner sound with sharper guitars and more urgent, near savage drums. It even served to erase any memory of their disappointing second album ('I Don't Know How' from the EP could well be their best track to date and certainly it's in my top 50 tracks of all time).
So here they are again and just in time for summer. Gone for good is the fuzzy mastering that defined their brilliant debut. This is a band that have successfully switched out lo-fi, low budget recording tricks for something polished, expensive, high quality and grand. Though they've done that, they've not sold out or compromised their sound or identity as a garage band. Their debut was fun and had attitude. Their sophomore was cleaned up and more serious. This, then, is their perfect middle ground and, as such, they sound more confident than they ever have before.
"This love will be the death of me / and you'll always be a part of me". Beth's knack for penning a simple love song and wrapping it in guitars and drums that kick ass and drip sunshine is at it's best here. If 'Crazy For You' was all about unrequited love and longing, then 'California Nights' is a few months after the break up of whatever developed there. Beth sings about the wonder that is attraction, regrets being second best to a prettier girl, experiences insomnia brought on by depression, determines that she will be able to survive without her lover boy and realizes a lot about herself and life in the process. Miraculously she and Bobb do all of this without ever missing a beat or becoming like a country and western band, weeping into their whiskey jars. Au contraire, 'California Nights' is mid summer in LA pure and simple. The lyrical content is balanced by guitars and arrangements that are sand, sun, beach, candy floss, grimy punk clubs and girls who wear scuffed boots on the beach. Guitars are heavier than they've ever dared to be before on the first two tracks ('Feeling OK' and 'Fine Without You') and it makes perfect sense. The title track and closing track are the moodiest it gets, with the return of the 1950s rock and roll reverb. On 'Wasted Time' Beth asserts that she "doesn't mind about all this wasted time". She just wishes she had something to show for it.
She is the voice of the late twenty somethings who are disillusioned by adulthood and heartbreak. She knows that life does suck. But she's not letting it get her down. Its a pretty epic notion.
Best Coast could only be described as delightful. They are familiar, accessible, have heart, are open about their experiences and seem to never let life drag them down. They have found their feet, refined their sound and rooted themselves firmly where they should be. On the beach, beer in hand playing for a small audience of Mexicans who probably don't understand them. Along with Django Django's latest, this is the album of the summer. And without a doubt it is their best to date.
WVS
So here they are again and just in time for summer. Gone for good is the fuzzy mastering that defined their brilliant debut. This is a band that have successfully switched out lo-fi, low budget recording tricks for something polished, expensive, high quality and grand. Though they've done that, they've not sold out or compromised their sound or identity as a garage band. Their debut was fun and had attitude. Their sophomore was cleaned up and more serious. This, then, is their perfect middle ground and, as such, they sound more confident than they ever have before.
"This love will be the death of me / and you'll always be a part of me". Beth's knack for penning a simple love song and wrapping it in guitars and drums that kick ass and drip sunshine is at it's best here. If 'Crazy For You' was all about unrequited love and longing, then 'California Nights' is a few months after the break up of whatever developed there. Beth sings about the wonder that is attraction, regrets being second best to a prettier girl, experiences insomnia brought on by depression, determines that she will be able to survive without her lover boy and realizes a lot about herself and life in the process. Miraculously she and Bobb do all of this without ever missing a beat or becoming like a country and western band, weeping into their whiskey jars. Au contraire, 'California Nights' is mid summer in LA pure and simple. The lyrical content is balanced by guitars and arrangements that are sand, sun, beach, candy floss, grimy punk clubs and girls who wear scuffed boots on the beach. Guitars are heavier than they've ever dared to be before on the first two tracks ('Feeling OK' and 'Fine Without You') and it makes perfect sense. The title track and closing track are the moodiest it gets, with the return of the 1950s rock and roll reverb. On 'Wasted Time' Beth asserts that she "doesn't mind about all this wasted time". She just wishes she had something to show for it.
She is the voice of the late twenty somethings who are disillusioned by adulthood and heartbreak. She knows that life does suck. But she's not letting it get her down. Its a pretty epic notion.
Best Coast could only be described as delightful. They are familiar, accessible, have heart, are open about their experiences and seem to never let life drag them down. They have found their feet, refined their sound and rooted themselves firmly where they should be. On the beach, beer in hand playing for a small audience of Mexicans who probably don't understand them. Along with Django Django's latest, this is the album of the summer. And without a doubt it is their best to date.
WVS
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