Such is their ubiquitous presence online, it is difficult to say anything new about Best Coast which hasn”™t been repeated a thousand of times before. “It seems like the whole internet is talking about the Best Coast album” tweeted their record company Wichita Records last month. I, my Spotisfaction friends, shall try to avoid talking about their hilarious twitter feed, or famous boyfriends or music blog hysteria surrounding this album and the current wave of ”˜low-fi”™ bands from America (er, well, starting from now). Let”™s just concentrate on one thing, Crazy For You, the debut album by Best Coast, the solo project of Bethany Consentino from California accompanied by Bobb Bruno on bass and Ali Koehler on drums.
Far from reinventing the wheel, or doing anything which would typically generate the amount of press attention as they have, Crazy For You finds it”™s virtue by sticking with traditional low-fi philosophy of keeping things simple. The album is a meeting point between slacker culture of the 90s and minimal production (it was recorded in just two weeks). The album is full of nostalgia, sing-a-long melodies and throw-away lyrics about life, love and summer and it is this that makes the album such an enjoyable listen. Opening single ”˜Boyfriend”™ wouldn’t have seemed out of place on alt.rock radio playlists circa 1994. Grungy guitars playing a 3 chord structured verses and that rare beast nowadays, a guitar solo! But as soon as second track ”˜Crazy For You”™ comes along, it becomes apparent that there is another era which Best Coast are paying homage. The track is a concoction of the Shangri-La”™s aptitude of all things sinister and the Beach Boys ‘Surfin’ USA’. You can imagine Bethany cruising down the Californian coast with her boyfriend, basking in the sunshine as she is singing to him “I would kill you but then I”™d miss you”.