One of my favourite unapologetically simple and repetitive, lo-fi turned hi-fi pop-machines Best Coast returned this year with their "mature" second album
The Only Place. The album certainly shows a band that has grown: it's a bit more musically complex, with more controlled noodling on the guitar and solos that feel more deliberate than ever, and Bethany Cosentino sings with a newfound confidence which she has cultivated over the course of the band's loaded tour schedule. All of these details are given greater clarity thanks to
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director Jon Brion's spacious production.
Luckily for fans of "the old Best Coast," Bethany and second core member Bobb Bruno have not abandoned their charms. The songs on
The Only Place remain supremely catchy, and while their lyrical themes have shifted from weed, cats and puppy love to more serious topics including homesickness, the need to get away from the vices of life on the road and self-reflections on self-identity versus "how they want me to be," Bethany's lyrics remain straightforward.
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