Sun soaked Cali rockers Best Coast jager it up at Nashville's Exit/In

Sunny California pop rockers Best Coast played a nice set at Exit/In Wednesday night, but more and more I feel I'm growing out the demographic for this band. The wave of teeny boppers that dotted a large part of the crowd was pretty jarring and not what I expected, though maybe I just haven't been keeping up. They started out as a lo-fi, fuzzy and totally blown out indie garage rock band with singles like "Sun Was High (So Was I)" and the original version of "Up All Night," which doesn't exactly scream 14-year old music. Yet many of those up near the front looked like they had to scam an ID to get into this 18 and up show. I stuck around long enough to snap a few shots of Beth and crew and then booked it toward the back, where fortunately the age range was a little more diverse.

The set itself was fortunately pretty skewed toward Crazy for You, which is still one of my favorite albums of 2010. On this site I have made no bones about my distaste for the band's latest album, The Only Place. Despite a couple of catchy songs here and there, it's far too sanitized, syrupy, and strips out almost everything that was musically interesting about Crazy for You. They kicked off with my personal favorite song in their catalog, "Goodbye," a sentimental grunge coated rocker which reveals a great deal about frontwoman Bethany Cosentino's personality, while ending in a wash of emotionally charged and powerful cascading vocals.

Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast strums a sunny tune.

From there they bounced around from upbeat, bouncy rockers (Crazy for You, The End) while also touching on some more poignant slow dance numbers designed to tug on your heart strings (No One Like You, How They Want Me to Be). There were also a couple of new songs inserted into the mix, including the recently released "Fear of My Identity." It's a nice number, and restores some of the homespun and crunchy nature stripped away on The Only Place.

It's a nice enough live piece, although after a while all of these songs drift by at such a midsummer's pace that they start to very similar to one another. Though, it's tough to deny that the songs themselves are still pretty solid. They're all pretty infectious and insatiable, even when the writing isn't always the best.

A few other couple notes of interest is that Best Coast's set included something they have never hinted at on the albums -- jamming. They transition between the slow, melancholy part of "I Want To" into the fast part was given extra long jam treatment, and they did it again on the main set closer "Each and Every Day." It wasn't much to get excited about -- mostly just fast strumming of repeated chords. It felt more like they were just aiming at surprising the audience rather than something that could actually grow to be a component of the band's sound. The fact that they jammed was interesting; the jamming itself was not so much.

Hilariously enough, after the first song of the encore, Beth requested Jager shots for the entire band, which she promptly downed onstage before tearing into set closer "Boyfriend." It proved to be ill advised. It led to her forgetting some of the words and gave a generally off kilter performance, which is uniquely embarrassing when you consider that "Boyfriend" was the initial single that led to them getting noticed in the first place, is still a setlist staple for many of the band's fans, and is easily one of the best songs in their catalog.

One of the other highlights of the night was local rockers Bully, who kicked off the evening. Despite their clear youth pulled off a seasoned and well structured set. Singer/guitarist Alicia Bognanno remarked a couple times onstage that the band had only recently just started and that she felt nervous, but this only helped endear the audience to her and by the end of the set the entire crowd was most definitely behind her. If nothing more, the performance should definitely encourage more confidence for future outings.

It was very obviously Best Coast/girl/grungy inspired, but she moved around with deft and precision on the neck of her guitar, and the tunes showed a knack for solid songwriting. The sound on the vocals was turned way down, as it was for the band that came after them, but from what could be surmised she had a fine voice. A comedic moment ensued when the band began leaving the stage and someone in the crowd shouted "One more!" She turned and said something to the effect of "That's it! We literally don't have anymore!" This prompted a chuckle from the crowd. Though still obviously in the formative stages, this should be a local band to keep an eye on. Give them a few years and they could well be on a Best Coast level themselves.
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Related posts:

Best Coast - The Only Place review 
Best Coast - Crazy for You review 

Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino aims for big change on new LP

For many of us, the summer of 2010 was curiously colored by a small town California girl named Bethany Cosentino. That was when her debut, Crazy for You, was released, a fun little record mish-mashing fuzzy surf rock with retro melodies and jangly pop hooks. It was a perfect summertime record with a refreshing lo-fi grimy sound.

Cosentino became an overnight guru on heartache, felines, and good ole Mary J. Despite that, though, it was hard to get over the feeling that the music was made by someone whose hair was perpetually unwashed.

All this set the stage for the release of the band's sophomore set, The Only Place. This record introduces marked changes for the band. Overall, it's a mixed bag. Cosentino certainly still maintains a penchant for writing simple pop songs that are short, catchy, and to the point. Barely a track breaches the thee minute mark. What's changed? Evidently Cosentino snatched a bottle of conditioner and trimmed those bangs, because The Only Place sounds much sleeker, cleaner, and sexier.

John Brion's production has enhanced several key elements. The most notable beneficiary is Cosentino's voice. It is much richer, cleaner, and syrupy sounding, which in turn allows her personality to shine through even more clearly and radiantly. She's come a long way from the days of early singles like "Sun Was High (So Was I)," which was such a muddled mess that it wasn't easy to pick out her vocals from the background instrumentation. Now, tracks like "Last Year" feature a beautiful aria from Bethany at the end. The closer, "Up All Night," may be the best track in this collection. Her tale of lost love and heartbreak tugs at your heart strings like no other song in her catalog.

The vocal performance on her more obviously retro themed pieces aren't too shabby either.

"No One Like You" is a 50s style soul ballad that wouldn't sound out of place on a Four Seasons record. The song sees Cosentino expressing her devotion for her sweetheart like a lost lovesick puppy. "How They Want Me to Be," another highlight, features 60s girlpop vocals and a theme that focuses on becoming more sure of yourself. 

Other noteworthy tracks include the title track and album opener, which kicks off with a chord progression that sounds like something straight out of Juno, before launching into an unabashed ode about the joys of The Golden State. Lines like "we were born with sun in our teeth and in our hair" sound like a treatise on everything it means to be part of the under 25 crowd on the California coast.

Lyric wise, the album largely focuses on a downer motif. There are plenty of themes about being broke, heartbroken, and dealing with the pressure of trying to conform to the expectations of others. All concepts that young people can surely relate to. 

Sadly, there are more than a few problems on this record I can't overlook. For one, there simply isn't much variety. This album stands in marked contrast to the sound presented on Crazy for You, but most of the tracks on The Only Place don't truly sound all that different from one another. Take the first two songs, "The Only Place" and "Why I Cry," for example, where even the basic melodies of each song are startlingly similar.

Every song is short, simple and catchy, but the flip side of that coin is that there's not a ton of depth to any of the songs. The main thrust of each song can easily be gleaned within a listen or two, which means repeated listens will be met with diminishing returns.

This record feels like it was produced for mass consumption. Some may not mind, but personally it reminds me how much I really miss the scuzzy lo-fi charm of Crazy For You and the silly vibe that Bethany brought to that record, as opposed to the dreary mood on The Only Place. Needless to say, we probably won't be hearing many more Wavves comparisons.

I truly want to like Bethany Cosentino. She's an engaging figure with a unique personality, and that shines through vividly in her writing. The improved production gives her voice a chance to shine, but at the cost of ripping out most of the charm they had on Crazy for You. She also hasn't really escaped the repetitive song structure that was one of the few major issues on that album. I can't help but feel like The Only Place takes a few steps forward, but several huge steps back.

Score: 74/100

See also: Best Coast - Crazy for You review

Bethany Cosentino is sorry she lost your favorite T-Shirt. She'll buy you a new one.

Genre: Indie Pop
Mexican Summer
Running Time: 31:39

What do you get when you mix sun soaked California surf rock from with the feminine intuition of Bethany Cosentino? You have Crazy For You, the debut album from the California pop rockers, and it does not disappoint.

The album's main strength is how it seamlessly fuses together so many different elements. There is a major emphasis on catchy melodies and solid songwriting. And there are some other key factors that give the music a unique vibe, such as the grainy, lo-fi production that provides that all important indie vibe.

And then there is Bethany Cosentino.

You can't overstate what a game changer the Best Coast frontwoman is. She's the kind of girl your mom doesn't want you to date, but you know you just can't stay away from.

Over the disc's 30 minutes, Cosentino reveals that she dropped out of school, she has a fondness for marijuana, and she lost your favorite T-shirt. (She'll buy you a new one. A better one!)

For most people, these would be really bad qualities to have. But for Cosentino, they establish her firmly in the mold of sexy rocker chick. The personality she injects into her music is a major part of what makes this record stand out.

Of course, drugs and rock 'n' roll aren't all Cosentio is about. She's a girl looking for love, and apparently has a hard time with it. "Boyfriend," expresses the angst you feel when you can't be with the person that you really want.

"Goodbye" speaks of feeling downtrodden when you're apart from your lover, while "The End" finds Cosentino hoping to find a love that will last for all time. On the surface, the album seems like simple, breezy summertime music. But the lyrics provide a contrasting melancholy feeling.

If you've heard the lead single, Boyfriend, you know Cosentino can do some special things when it comes to vocal arrangements. One of the most stunning examples comes on "I Want To," which has a striking shifting vocal melody. And the tempo shift that comes near the end of the song is genius.

I find many of the songs have really nice endings. "Goodbye" and, more specifically, "When I'm With You," employ a general buildup throughout the course of the song which leads to some truly breathtaking outros.

Crazy for You is chock full of shifting tempos and rhythms, crunchy surf rock guitar, and contains delectable melodies while still maintaining its indie sensibilities. And it's all delivered by one of the most magnetizing personalities to emerge in the indie scene in quite sometime. Give it a chance, and you may soon find that you're crazy for Best Coast.

Score: 91/100