FULL STREAM: Best Coast - Fade Away (Jewel City)

Stream Best Coast's upcoming mini-album Fade Away, due October 22 on Bethany Cosentino's own Jewel City label:

New Best Coast "Mini-Album" Fade Away Due Oct. 22

On Bethany Cosentino's own new label Jewel City. "Fear of My Own Identity" and "Who I have Become", both from their 2013 Record Store Day single, will also appear on the new seven-song "mini-album."

The songs are apparently going to be faster-paced but have been inspired by the likes of Mazzy Star, Patsy Cline and My Bloody Valentine. Seems contradictory, but it certainly helps the intrigue ...

Listen to both "Fear of My Own Identity" and "Who I Have Become" below:

Today, I Watched the Sun Change Colours in My Bedroom

All images and sounds by Crystal Dorval/White Poppy.

Today, I took a homeopathic pill of advice from Crystal Dorval, a Vancouver-based multimedia artist whom I primarily know as the ambient/psych sound-collagist White Poppy.

I often feel as though life is a race against time that I'm desperately losing. We're all bound to lose, but I mean trailing - languishing in the dust, even: there's too much music to listen to, too much work I have to do in order to get where I want to be, too much work in general; I don't make enough time for my important relationships or myself. I feel I should be proactive on my rare days off, as Dorval says: force myself to take advantage of the sun - force myself to see people. As time only seems to accelerate, why waste what little we have (left)?

Yet I can't seem to pull myself away from work even when, like today, I make a conscious decision to not think about it. I slept in, yes, and I did make great headway with a book I’m genuinely enjoying, but I still spent all morning writing and sending e-mails and punctuated my reading by scribbling notes in preparation for a book review. And currently, I'm disentangling my thoughts for this post.

I used to think going out and seeing people were the solutions to the innervating effects of isolation and boredom. But then, why did the Best Coast lyrics "And when I go out, I don't feel anything / I just keep on spending my money / One day, it will be gone / And then I'll have to write another song" ("Last Year") keep sticking out?

Dorval has taught me that yes, there is value in taking a day to yourself - to lounge about and do whatever you want, even if all you want to do is nothing. Like her, lounging around the apartment, not doing anything, usually makes me feel "lazy" and even guilty about wasting precious time. But everyone should give themselves permission to lounge and do nothing with their day. Try it just once, and maybe you too will realize that, as Crystal assures, "It's okay. in fact, it might be one of the most productive things you can do for your mental health."

BC X R

Who else loves Vancouver as much as Kurt Vile seems to? Best Coast. But it's less surprising that the sunny beach-poppers play Vancouver so often - they're from the coast.

On August 12, Best Coast return to Van, this time playing the Rio Theatre. Interesting venue choice, as most bands that play there are ones you sit down for, so I'm curious to see how Best Coast will work in that environment. I just hope they don't switch venues again like last time when they were moved from the Commodore Ballroom to the far smaller but more appropriate Biltmore; I'd wondered how anyone expected them to fill the Commodore.

I've started trying to limit in how many times I see certain acts, especially with frequency considered, and though Best Coast may become one of those acts, they're playing material from an upcoming EP this time around. That may not translate to much new material, but ... well:

Listen to their Record Store Day single "Fear of My Identity," the first new song released since their second album, last year's The Only Place. Oh, and if the Rio is one of Best Coast's shows with Bleached, this will be a dream come true.

Favourite Releases of 2012: Best Coast - The Only Place (Mexican Summer)

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.

Best Coast Touring with Green Day?

Despite the larger exposure, YUCK! Please don't go the way of Green Day, Best Coast. Here's a song from when GD was still worth a damn:

Best Coast - "Rhiannon" (Fleetwood Mac Cover)

I love you, Best Coast. I God-damned love you. I'm seriously going to marry Bethany Cosentino. And right there is the most fanboyish thing I've ever said in this blog.

It takes Best Coast to make me like Fleetwood Mac in the slightest, and even then, I still don't care for the original version. Cool to see Bobb on drums and Bethany on piano; I'd never seen them on either. This is probably the most precise I've ever heard Bethany sing live.

Best Coast's cover of "Rhiannon" appears on a Fleetwood Mac tribute compilation that also features Karen Elson (produced by Beck), the Kills and Lee Ranaldo featuring J. Mascis. Listen to the slightly more adorned album-version of Best Coast's cover below:

   Rhiannon | Best Coast by concordmusicgroup

The Only Place For Me

May 23, 2012
The Biltmore Cabaret
Vancouver, British Columbia

After having missed Vancouver punk trio Nü Sensae three times, I finally got to see them when they opened for Best Coast at the Biltmore Cabaret. Although Nü Sensae's set only lasted twenty minutes, drummer Daniel Pitout looked like he was convulsing after the first song. The intensity with which he and the rest of the band played is why I for once, reluctantly, kept my earplugs in for more than a few seconds; in fact, I kept them in for the entire set. It was definitely a smart move, because when I took them out for a second to hear how loud Nü Sensae were, I felt like I'd been cast into the first level of Hell (the deeper levels being reserved for heavy- and doom-metal - truly Satanic shit).

Unfortunately, yet unsurprisingly, to say the plugs took away from Nü Sensae would be an understatement. I tried only wearing the plugs halfway in, and even then, I could hardly hear Andrea Lukic's blood-curdling, Kim Gordon-like screams. I realize it seems stupid to complain about earplugs taking away from shows, but I really wonder what the point of going to shows is if one can hardly hear anything. Maybe I just need to find less-isolating earplugs - or stop caring even in the slightest about my body's well-being.

After the snarling punk of Nü Sensae, another trio, Portland, OR's Unknown Mortal Orchestra, took the stage and delivered hands down the worst performance I'd ever seen. They weren't bad at their instruments, but they weren't interesting in the slightest either; I could not have fathomed more generic indie music. Until UMO, Oh Land and Dan Sartain were the worst bands I'd ever seen, but to Oh Land's and Dan's credits, they were just boring; UMO were so annoyingly bad, I couldn't even bring myself to pretend I was into them. I frequently scanned the floor behind and beside me, I was so bored, and was shocked to find people actually enjoying UMO. That, or there were far better actors than me at the Biltmore that night. I thought my eyes were going to become stuck behind my head, I rolled my eyes so much during UMO.

As excruciating as UMO were, Best Coast were completely worth the seemingly endless torture. Although now a fleshier four-piece featuring new guitarist/bassist Rafe Mandel and Brett Mielke replacing Ali Koehler on drums, I couldn't tell much of a difference from the last two times I saw Best Coast. Despite a few slightly missed cues between frontperson Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno (also on guitar and bass) and minor malfunctions with Bobb's amp during the encore, Best Coast still put on an all-around solid performance.

In typical Biltmore charm, I stood so close to Bethany, at near-eye-level, that I could have hugged her just by sticking out my arms. But that would have been getting a little too personal, so I settled for snatching her second bottle of water; I'm now two-for-three in snatching Bethany's water at Best Coast shows (someone snatched her first bottle before the encore, prompting her to ask, "Who took my water?" when the band returned to the stage. So, I decided to wait until the band was done for sure to make my move).

Bethany's bottle of water in one hand and Best Coast's set list in the other, and that was another show marked off of my calender - another ripped ticket stub in my desk drawer. And speaking of set lists, that Nü Sensae had theirs scrawled on a piece of bent cardboard was funny in its DIYness. I would have snatched it, but I didn't know where I'd keep it. It would have kind of detracted from my bedroom set list wall, even if I taped the cardboard flat. Also, I didn't want to keep that piece of cardboard on me the entire show.

Click here for more photos of Best Coast, and click below to watch a video that must have been taken by the person who stood right beside me, because the video shows pretty much the exact view I had:

Best Coast - "The Only Place" Live on Letterman

Six daaayyyssss!!!:

The New Old Best Coast

For reference (and because it's great and free), download Best Coast's new song "The Only Place" by clicking here.

When Best Coast frontperson Bethany Cosentino discussed the band's upcoming sophomore album The Only Place a few months ago, she described it as country-influenced, "grown up" and more personal than their first album Crazy For You. Songs they've played live from the new album so far, including "Why I Cry," have certainly delivered introspective maturity but not a trace of country. The latest track from The Only Place to hit the 'Net, however, the new album's title-track, fills that gap.

Right away, opening with lightly strummed, shaker-backed guitars, "The Only Place" sounds like no other Best Coast song I can immediately think of. Also atypical of Best Coast is the fact that "The Only Place" is based on note-picked guitars rather than full chords (any musicians want to throw me a proper term here?). And the production is so clean and tight - unlike the hollow and muddled but punchy Crazy For You - that one can hear a little twang in the guitars. The cleaner, looser production also gives Bethany's vocals and every instrument equal weight, relaxing the drumming (which takes center stage on Crazy For You), giving the song space to breathe and mellowing it out.

Bethany has also stated during the making of The Only Place that she really wants to develop as a singer. Best Coast's seemingly endless touring behind Crazy For You has long served as her opportunity to do exactly that; hear their iTunes Session EP, specifically their cover of Loretta Lynn's "Fist City," where Bethany's voice really shines as the songs' centerpiece. On "The Only Place," she sounds relaxed, no longer belting out lyrics to keep up with the song's poppy pace. And the clean production does nothing but favours in allowing listeners to actually hear her confident new voice.

No question, "The Only Place" signifies both emotional and musical growth in Best Coast. But as "grown up" and musically intricate as the song is for the band, "The Only Place" is still unmistakably Best Coast. The song still boasts most of their typical lyrical fare: sunshine, sitting around, "fun," beaches and West Coast-trumpeting; the only things missing are Bethany's cat Snacks and weed. With one simple question, though, Bethany puts a personal spin on "The Only Place" that shows she takes all of those subjects to heart: "Why would you live anywhere else?" After all, "[w]e've got the ocean, got the babes, got the sun; we've got the waves. This is the only place for me," she declares. So, "[l]eave your cold behind. We're gonna make it to the beach on time."

Neverminding the obvious fact that "The Only Place" is the new album's title-track, one can consider this song the record's thesis statement. Bethany has discussed her West Coast pride before, bolstered by her travels abroad (particularly in touring in support of Crazy For You), and "The Only Place" seems to sum up her previously expressed feelings. And not only does "The Only Place" sum up who Bethany Cosentino currently is as a person, but it sums up who Best Coast currently are as a band as well: a band that is growing but remaining true to who they are. If "The Only Place" is any indication of the rest of the album to come, Best Coast fans are in for a real treat, and the band is bound to make some new ones along the way.

How much of this am I going to regurgitate when I inevitably review the new album?

Best Coast AGAIN?

FUCK YES!!! This time - my third time seeing them - they'll be playing at the Commodore Ballroom on May 23, a far cry from the Cobalt and Rickshaw Theatre. They's gettin' big time.

Best Coast are touring in support of their upcoming sophomore album, the purportedly "mature/emo," Jon Brion-produced The Only Place due May 15 via Mexican Summer (yes, that Jon Brion, of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack fame). For now, I'm replaying this video of them playing "Why I Cry" from their new album in Denton, Texas over .. and over ... and over again ...

Cool Week For Best Coast

First, they were hand-picked by Metallica to play a music festival curated by the metal legends despite Best Coast guitarist and lead-singer Bethany Cosentino having trashed the Metallica/Lou Reed album Lulu. Second, Best Coast was featured as a question on Jeopardy's latest college week show:

West Coast Is Best? Maybe Not To Ali Koehler.

Drummer Ali Koehler was kicked out of Best Coast for reasons allegedly unbeknownst even to her, last month. Super-lame. Line-up changes post-me-getting-into-the-band always suck, especially when I fucking love the band. Oh well. Ali's solo song "Unwell" is pretty good - not too far from early Best Coast and even sweeter with harmonica, trinky-dink Play-Skool-style xylophone and less fuzz. The guitar tone and naked strumming are pretty much the definition of cute bedroom pop.

Listen to "Unwell" and five other songs by Ali Koehler at her Band Camp page. (I should have posted this when the story first broke, and her songs were still available for free download).

Disappointed

But still pleased. Just as I was getting into Wavves - I mean really getting into Wavves - they put out an only-decent collaborative track with frontman Nathan Williams' girlfriend's band Best Coast. I guess I read "collaboration with Best Coast" and naturally assumed it'd feature Bethany Cosentino singing more. I'm also disappointed because the last (first) time Wavves and Best Coast worked together, their song was catchy as fuck:

New Best Coast: "How They Want Me To Be" (Demo)

http://soundcloud.com/bestcoastt/how-they-want-me-to-be

Even though it's only a demo, I can't freakin' waaaiiittt for Best Coast’s new album. Bethany says their new album is far from being done though. Drag.

For all of Bethany's posturing, “How They Want Me To Be” doesn't sound too different from a lot of Best Coast's songs. Maybe there's a lot less fluff lyrically (that is, it seems far more personal than their other songs), but really, that's about it. Not a complaint though: I'll take Best Coast any way they come.

Best Coast = Best Summer Or Sunny-Day Music: Best Coast Edition

It finally feels like summer today - because it's sunny, and I don't have to work which means I can finally hit the beach. Or go for walk. Or do whatever I want outdoors and enjoy it, even if my headphones broke yesterday, and I'm too cheap to buy a new pair right away. And what better way to hit the beach or bum around the city all day than by listening to one of my favourite bands, lo-fi-turned-hi-fi, sun-baked California fuzz-poppers Best Coast? As the following songs and lyrics I've highlighted show, their music was tailor-made for summer:




We were lookin' for the sun
We knew it'd give us loads of fun
(Always, always)
(Always, always)

...

I was lookin' for a change
And then you saved me from this place
(Always, always)
(Always, always)

And there is so much magic
In the warm and summer night
(Always, always)
(Always, always)

We were lookin' for a sunny adventure
Sittin' in our chairs
Wind in our hair

We were lookin' for a sunny adventure
You know that I don't care
Wind in our hair




All year long
We wait for sun
At the beach
We come undone

...

Everybody chillin', we ain't worried 'bout shit
Everybody chillin', we ain't worried 'bout a thing

I understand life of the beggar
Lookin' at the ocean
Oh, shit this is way iller
Callin' my mama
Tell her not to worry
I'm a man in the wild
And the wild is the best
I digress
This might just be hit or miss
My intentions all summer
Have simply just been this:
Mantain and keep my brain sane
Very little ragin'

...

Mmm, ain't worried 'bout a thang
Mmm, give a damn, we ain't worried 'bout a thang
Ain't worried' bout a thang
Ain't worried 'bout a thang
Everybody good, we ain't worried 'bout a thang
Everybody good' we ain't worried 'bout shit




Don't plan at all
'Cause making it up is so natural


Lyrically, "Buy Nothing Day" isn't particularly summery, but I like its sentiment of freedom and going with the flow. It's what summer should be all about.

Best Coast + Country Influences Including But Not Limited To Loretta Lynn = Too Much High-Octane Kick-Assity For Me To Handle

Seriously. This is some of the best news I've heard in a LONG time. As if Best Coast covering Loretta Lynn wasn't an awesome enough collision of worlds/musical styles that I never saw coming, now, in an interview with Rollng Stone Magazine, Best Coast frontwoman Bethany Cosentino reveals that their follow-up album to 2010's Crazy For You (my favourite album of that year) is going to be inspired by country music; more specifically, their new album is going to be inspired by country artists like Loretta Lynn.

Bethany assures fans (or re-assures, depending on one's stance on country music) that Best Coast's sophomore album isn't exactly going to be a country album though. She says they're going try to blend their usual pop with their country influences. If their upcoming album is going to sound anything like their cover of Loretta Lynn's "Fist City," then Best Coast fans are in store for something great.

Free Download: Best Coast - "So Gone" (Mexican Summer, 2011)

Between releasing one of the best albums of 2010, collaborating with Weezer, Wavves, Kid Cudi, Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij and the Go! Team and releasing a split-7" single with JEFF the Brotherhood and, most recently, releasing an iTunes session EP, California surf-poppers Best Coast is quickly becoming one of the most prolific bands today. Last week, via Adult Swim's "2011 Singles Program," Best Coast released yet another new song into the world.

Beginning last week with Ford & Lopatin's "Too Much MIDI (Please Forgive Me)," Adult Swim is releasing ten free songs a week for ten weeks straight on the network's website. This week's download is a brand new track by Best Coast called "Gone Again"; up until yesterday, the song was only available for streaming.

"Gone Again" is typical Best Coast fare in every imaginable way: simple, chill, catchy-as-all-hell riff; lyrics about feeling low, getting high, her guy being gone, her missing her guy and her being "insane"; the lyric "gone"; and of course, a shout-out to her cat. That is to say, I fucking LOVE and can't get enough of "Gone Again."

Best Coast is one of those bands that can be repetitive as HELL both musically and lyrically, and I'll still love them more than ninety-five percent of everything I've heard or ever will hear. Yes, there are a million fuzzy, poppy, lo-fi-turned-hi-fi bands that sing vapid songs about puppy-love, sunshine and getting high, but only Best Coast puts all of those elements together the way they do, and how Best Coast puts all of those elements together is the x-factor - the intangible - that sets apart Best Coast from every other band in which you can find the same aforementioned elements.

*The pie-face is a screencap from the official video for "Gone Again."

Best Coast - iTunes Session (Apple Inc., 2011)

Finally, Best Coast has released an official version of their cover of country legend Loretta Lynn’s “Fist City.” It may not be a “proper” studio version, but the fact that it’s clean and clear is all I ever asked for.

Best Coast's cover of Lynn's controversial 1968 chart-topping hit is just one of nine tracks on their latest release iTunes Session. With twenty minutes of music and an informative thirty-one minute interview, the EP provides a bite-size live-sampling of the band. The EP contains a pretty balanced spread of Best Coast’s discography (considering how small the band's discography actually is), featuring not only songs from their critically acclaimed breakthrough debut LP Crazy for You (Mexican Summer, 2010) but various singles and EPs as well. The recordings sound great, and the band performs with enough gusto and variation from their original versions to change the minds of those who've only seen the band on YouTube. Indeed, iTunes Session is most satisfying as a testament to how good Best Coast is live; they’re always hit-or-miss (mostly miss) in YouTube videos, but they were pretty well flawless both times I saw them.

Best Coast - Crazy for You (Mexican Summer, 2010)

Hear for yourself. Pretty safe to call this my favourite album of 2010.