[Mexican Summer, 2010]
words//stephanie cafarella
Weed, boys and an increasingly famous orange tabby are indisputably the lyrical mainstays of Californian surf/garage-pop duo Best Coast’s debut full-length, appropriately titled, Crazy for You. The album consists of sunny, refreshingly simple lo-fi jams that sound as though they were stolen directly from the pages of front-woman Bethany Cosentino’s own diary. The lyrics are blunt and genuinely tender without being unnecessarily pretentious in the least bit and the sound is so blissfully evocative of the lazy days of summer.
Crazy for You clocks in at just about thirty minutes of endlessly melodic tunes and the dreamy, love-driven croons of Cosentino. The record’s sound resonates that of ‘60s girl-group harmonies spiked with effortless ‘90s grunge. Vocals are buzzing with reverb and are often repeated for effect, as hazy noise guitar riffs amplify jubilantly. Making a record this blatantly simplistic shine brighter than the California rays almost makes Snacks* talking seem like an attainable feat, but shine it does.
The album’s compelling lead track, “Boyfriend” is perhaps the most easily relatable, lonely-girl anthem I have ever heard. With rambling lyrics that express the longing for requited love, such as “There’s nothin’ worse than sittin’ all alone at home and waitin’ by the phone/I hope that he’s at home waitin’ by his phone/ I wonder if he knows that I want him?” the line of sanity becomes fuzzy, which is often the case in these sort of situations. The track is laced with ‘60s girl-group worthy “oohs” and “ahhs” as well as a thumping drumbeat and little stings at the other lady in the picture that almost go unnoticed amidst syrupy vocals.
That kind of momentum holds strong throughout the rest of the record. Tracks like “Our Deal”, a Patsy Cline-evoking romantic country melody and “When The Sun Don’t Shine”, a hazy upbeat tune reminiscent of dazedly bicycling on a warm day are real standouts. Crazy For You comes to a close with two undeniably buoyant and fast-paced gems in “Happy” and Go-Gos-esque “Each and Every Day”. In the former, Cosentino matter-of-factly states “I’m happy” and that “you” make her that way. It’s brimming with optimism that isn’t as apparent on the other tracks and just plain makes you feel good. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself dancing to the latter. It has an ‘80s feel that drifts into another take on cloudy country romance professing, “Everyday I wake up and I thank the stars above/For sending me a man who I could really love” between the jingle jangle of bells. And just when you think you’ve heard it all, a bonus track emerges in the perfectly straightforward re-released single, “When I’m With You”, which if you haven’t already heard, you’re in for a real treat.
If you listen closely, you can almost hear the humming of heat bugs throughout this honest account of summery romance amongst the tracks on Crazy For You. This maudlin and truly impressive collection of dreamy jams will quickly whisk you away to a land of lounge chairs, endless sunshine and the only care in the world would involve whether or not the hunk from History class would phone asking you to go steady already.
It’s unquestionable that I’m pretty “crazy for you”, Best Coast.
* Bethany Cosentino’s orange tabby cat, who also appears on the album cover.
–
To find out more about Best Coast, please check out their MySpace page.