Album Review: Best Coast - The Only Place

"We were born with sun in our teeth and in our hair", croons Bethany Cosentino on the opening lines of her sophomore release "The Only Place" - summing up the ethos of Best Coast right off the bat and setting the tone for the rest of the album. In a conscious effort to move away from her image as the adorable pot-smoking, cat-loving California girl who thought that Jimmy Buffett invented chillwave, Cosentino has stepped slightly out of the lo-fi fuzz of Best Coast's summer-of-'10-defining debut LP "Crazy For You" and into smoother, clearer territory whilst retaining the warm glow that makes their brand of LA sun-kissed surf-pop so captivating.

The title-track throws you straight into a montage of hood-down drives, backyard barbeques and pockets of teenagers laughing smugly with one another about how good looking they all are as they carry their surfboards to the beach. "Why would you live anywhere else?" she implores "We've got the ocean, got the babes, got the sun, we've got the waves." But this Ray Ban clad upbeat attitude doesn't hold up for too long as Cosentino quickly begins to muse on boredom, loneliness, and the repercussions of indie fame with her charmingly guileless lyrical approach - "Take a pill, spend the bills, seems to be the way I get my thrills, a never ending hill."

Despite the change in approach, not a huge amount as changed stylistically since "Crazy For You". The tracks are bouncier, and though Consentino may still be sitting on her couch becoming gradually obscured by a thickening cloud of smoke whilst watching 90's TV shows, the presence of that image in the music is a little less potent. There are some subtle blues-rock, folk and vintage country influences running throughout that some fans may not have anticipated, and the addition of a bass as well as more layered guitar lines have made the arrangements sound a little more sumptuous. Enlisting Jon Brion (who has also worked with Fiona Apple, Elliot Smith and Kanye West as well as being the brains behind the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack) to produce has perhaps had a hand in creating a more wholesome and clean sound, with the major difference being that Cosentino's voice is now pushed further up in the mix, becoming more of a focal point rather than peeking through a curtain of thick distortion. "The Only Place" is all the better for it - her vastly improved vocals ride effortlessly on gilded waves, sounding especially stunning on "How They Want Me To Be", "Do You Love Me Like You Used To", and the heartwarming midnight-blue ballad "Up All Night".

"The Only Place" has kept a hold on the most prominent hallmarks of Best Coast's sound and made a confident and natural step onward from songs about how it was a bummer that Consentino's cat's inability to talk was holding her back from having conversations with him. There isn't anything particularly new or groundbreaking going on here, nor was there with "Crazy For You" for that matter, but Best Coast's songs capture a never-ending-summer spirit perfectly with a simplicity and honesty that is enrapturing. Not unlike Weezer's "Pinkerton" or, more recently, Yuck's self titled debut in that respect. It may not be profound, but that's not the reason people turn to bands like Best Coast. People enjoy them because of their infectious hooks, sixties style harmonies and sing-to-yourself-in-the-shower choruses, and there's a real sense of comfort in all that. Best Coast's songs are like the little pleasures with invaluable meaning - a warm breeze on bare skin, the glare of the sun in a rear view mirror, wiggling your toes in the sand. You know, all that stuff that tends to be labelled as cliche but we all secretly love.

Essentially, "The Only Place" is like sunglasses for your ears; everything is filtered through sunset-tinted lenses and spirits become lifted, weights disappear, and sighs of contentment are expelled. It's music for sheer enjoyment and it doesn't pretend to be anything else.

4/5

"The Only Place" is out May 15th through Mexican Summer.

Emma Garland