Best Coast

Crazy For You

(Mexican Summer)

Record Review by Joe Cortez

I was going to start this review by throwing out all the typical names and genres that L.A. buzz band (there's that phrase again) Best Coast has been tagged with since garnering the attention of music blogs and Twitter accounts (henceforth known simply as: "the internet") since debuting last year but if you're reading this review right now, you probably know all that so let's just get on with it. Believe everything you've read; Best Coast is indeed a very, very good band and the just-released Crazy for You is an excellent showcase for the group's sound.

The album's first song, "Boyfriend," is the most obvious clue to the listener-much to the chagrin of your neighbors, this is music that's meant to be enjoyed very loudly. If there's a more euphoric opening track for an album released this year, I haven't heard it. Of course, a lot of that has to do with that oh so fickle feeling of "the new" that comes over when hearing something different and exciting for the first time. Although The Beach Boys have been cited as an influence, don't go into Crazy for You expecting full and lush production. The arrangements here are cheerfully condensed-like a female fronted garage rock band produced by "Shadow" Morton. Group mastermind Bethany Cosentino's vocals are engaging and particularly dark & interesting on the album's highlight, "Honey," but it's not all sunshine and sandy beaches.

Coming in at around half an hour, Crazy for You seems as though it was designed to wash over the listener. The scant run time masks the fact that while nearly every song is a winner, there's a certain sameness that plagues much of the album. That said, while Best Coast doesn't do much (yet), what it does do, it does very well. It almost seems appropriate that the Coast's initial releases were singles since that's how most of the '60s girl groups and pop combos Best Coast is so clearly influenced by distributed music to the masses in the first place. However, by piecemealing its music, the band built up an accrued interest over time that is ultimately difficult to sustain when collected and expanded upon in a single volume. It's a lot like eating birthday cake for every meal, everyday-no matter how appealing it may sound, eventually you'll have your fill.

Despite my misgivings after (many) repeated listens, Crazy for You is easily one of the best discs of 2010 and avoids a lot of the mistakes the band's contemporaries seem intent to make... repeatedly. It's just that so much of the album feels more like promise than actual fulfillment. Best Coast may have a lot more up its sleeve than we're given here but there's a lot to like about this band. Sometimes the internet can be right - and Crazy for You is the proof.