Best Coast
Best Coast | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Los Angeles, US |
Genres | |
Years active | 2009–2023 (hiatus) |
Labels |
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Past members |
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Website | bestcoast |
Best Coast is an American
After a string of
History
Formation and early releases (2009)
Best Coast was formed in 2009 by
Pocahaunted achieved minor success (at one point opening for
The band's second 7-inch single, "When I'm with You", was financed by Black Iris, which functioned as both a music and film production agency. Lewis Pesacov oversaw the production, engineering and mixing of "This is Real" & "When I'm With You." After their first experience recording with live drums and "real" production, they made a conscious effort to stray away from their original, more lo-fi and hazy sound.[2] A collection of 7-inch singles on Art Fag and Black Iris alerted Adam Shore, owner of buzz-generating website The Daily Swarm, who became the group's manager. Jeffery Kaye, label manager of Mexican Summer, discovered the band's music online.[2] These releases included a cassette tape release, Where the Boys Are, on the U.K. label Blackest Rainbow; a split 7-inch, "Up All Night", on Atelier Ciseaux; and an EP, Make You Mine, on Group Tightener.[3] Margaret Reges writes that Best Coast had "become something of a sensation by the time 2009 came to a close"; the band enjoyed a bit of attention from the media (notably from Nylon), and Make You Mine made its way onto a few year-end lists.[3] The band embarked on its first U.S. tour early the following year, sharing the stage with the Vivian Girls.[3]
Crazy for You and The Only Place (2010–2012)
The duo recorded their debut album, Crazy for You, for Black Iris at Mexican Radio Studios in Echo Park, California from January to April 2010. Lewis Pesacov of Fool's Gold and Foreign Born produced, engineered and mixed the album. "Boyfriend" was released as the lead single from the album on June 29, 2010. Crazy for You became a mainstream success upon its July 2010 release as a result of Internet buzz. It entered the Billboard 200 at number 36 with 10,000 units sold and debuted at No. 10 on Digital Albums.[7] The album's success led to maximum exposure: "the blogosphere was suddenly abuzz with talk about her album, her tweets, her personal life, her daily habits and even one of her cats."[2] Alongside the quick success came an intense level of scrutiny, Internet haters and venom from selected critics, some of whom viewed Cosentino's material as anti-feminist.[8] Crazy for You and its sound, "simple and pungent songs [...] toying with 1950s and '60s melodic structures," had become something of a touchstone for Best Coast and adopted by several other bands. Cosentino hid her vocals behind layers of reverb and distortion, which was an extension of her onstage anxiety.[9]
The band continued to gain popularity over the course of 2010 and 2011, due in part to touring and festival appearances.[3] Ali Koehler of Vivian Girls became the band's interim touring drummer, but was ousted from the group at the end of 2011. During this period, much of the band's press consisted of details on Cosentino's relationship with Wavves' Nathan Williams. The two collaborated and toured together throughout 2011[3] in a joint effort dubbed the Summer Is Forever tour.[10] The extensive travel schedule subsequently inspired the lyrical content of the band's sophomore effort, The Only Place (2012). Cosentino felt that her life had dramatically changed in the two years following its release, having never spent so much time away from home.[11] The duo had a desire to create a record that "nobody was going to call lo-fi," and Bruno reached out to his former boss, producer/composer Jon Brion, known for his work on Kanye West's Late Registration (2005).[12]
Fade Away, California Nights, Always Tomorrow, and hiatus (2013–2023)
Best Coast's next release, an EP entitled Fade Away, was released on October 22, 2013, on singer Bethany Cosentino's new label, Jewel City.[16][17] In October 2013, the band produced a charity t-shirt for the Yellow Bird Project to raise money and awareness for the L.A. Animal Rescue.[18] The shirt was launched at their Animal Rescue benefit concert, which took place at The Fonda Theatre on October 21, 2013. The duo toured with the Pixies in early 2014.[19]
The duo released their third studio album,
In early 2016, the band embarked with Wavves on another extensive concert tour, billed as Summer Is Forever II and including the California indie rock band Cherry Glazerr.[10]
On September 11, 2017, Best Coast began touring as support on Paramore's tour for their new release After Laughter. In October 2017, the band headlined the first VintageVibe Festival with groups such as Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears and Nick Waterhouse in Palm Springs, California.[22]
In June 2018, Best Coast released their first album targeted to children called Best Kids. Besides covers like "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", it also contains originals such as the lead single "Cats & Dogs".[23]
In May 2019, Best Coast was announced as the house band on aftershow parody TV series What Just Happened??! with Fred Savage.[24]
On January 17, 2020, Best Coast released a new single, "Everything Has Changed".[25] On the same day, they announced in an Instagram post the release of their fourth album, Always Tomorrow, which was released on February 21, 2020, via Concord Records.
In May 2023, Cosentino decided to indefinitely put the project on hiatus as she explored a solo career. In a press statement regarding the decision, she wrote:
My identity as a human being, and as an artist, has been so wrapped up in Best Coast for over a decade. The decision to pause the project indefinitely, and explore a new side of myself, was a very difficult one to make—but it felt necessary for me. Life is too short to not give yourself what you feel you need and want. I am excited about being just Bethany Cosentino for a while and figuring out who I am outside of the "Bethany from Best Coast" box I've lived in for such a long time.[26]
Cosentino's debut solo album, Natural Disaster, was released on July 28, 2023, via Concord Records.[27]
Musical style and influences
Best Coast was originally loosely inspired by
The band's second album,
Band members
- Bethany Cosentino – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano (2009–2023)
- Bobb Bruno – lead guitar, bass guitar, drums, production (2009–2023)
Former touring musicians
- Ali Koehler – drums, backing vocals (2010–2011)
- Brady Miller – drums (2012–2016)
- Brett Mielke – bass guitar, backing vocals (2012–2022)
- Joseph Bautista– rhythm guitar, keyboards (2015–2022)
- Dylan Wood – drums (2017–2019)
- Dylan Fujioka – drums (2019–2022)
- Brian Hill – drums (2022)
Discography
- Crazy for You (2010)
- The Only Place (2012)
- California Nights(2015)
- Always Tomorrow (2020)[53]
References
- ^ Pelly, Jenn (September 10, 2013). "Best Coast Announce Mini-Album Fade Away". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Gustavo Turner (November 4, 2010). "The L.A. Weekly Interview: Best Coast". LA Weekly. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
- ^ Allmusic. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
- ^ IAC). Archived from the originalon October 6, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
- ^ Jeremy Krinsley (November 17, 2009). "Interview with Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast". Impose. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
- ^ a b Jeff Weiss (February 7, 2010). "Queens of L.A.'s lo-fi scene". LA Weekly. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
- ^ Kerri Mason (August 16, 2010). "Best Coast Rides 'Crazy' Wave of Blog Buzz to Success". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
- ^ a b Kai Flanders (May 10, 2012). "The Branding of Best Coast". LA Weekly. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
- ^ a b Jon Carimanica (May 16, 2012). "No More Reverb: Full-Throttle for Best Coast". The New York Times. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
- ^ a b McGrath, Ryan (February 17, 2016). "California Dreaming: An Interview with Best Coast". The Aquarian Weekly. Arts Weekly Inc. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
- ^ Rebecca Nicholson (May 11, 2012). "Best Coast are back and this time they mean business". The Guardian. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
- ^ a b c Phoebe Reilly (July 9, 2012). "Best Coast and Wavves: Feel Good Inc". Spin. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
- ^ The Only Place (liner notes). Best Coast. US: Mexican Summer. 2012. MEX 109.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b Brian Line (April 1, 2013). "Q&A: Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino talks old-school country, confessional songwriting, and bench pressing". Baltimore City Paper. Archived from the original on April 3, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
- ^ Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
- ^ Rolling Stone. Archived from the originalon September 14, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
- ^ Randall Roberts (September 17, 2013). "Hear now: Best Coast releases new 'I Don't Know How,' teases EP". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
- ^ "Check out our new Best Coast tees, courtesy of The Yellow Bird Project!". Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
- ^ a b Emily Zemler (November 19, 2013). "Best Coast Working on a 'Nineties' Album With Butch Walker". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
- ^ "New Best Coast album influenced by Gwen Stefani, The Go-Gos, Sugar Ray". NME. May 2, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
- ^ Camp, Zoe (March 10, 2015). "Best Coast Share "Heaven Sent" Lyric Video". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
- ^ "Vintagevibe Festival". Vintagevibefest.com. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
- ^ Cirisano, Tatiana (June 22, 2018). "How Best Coast Made a 'Rock Record For Kids' That Adults Can Love Too". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ "Fox's Aftershow Parody 'What Just Happened' Adds Co-Host, House Band (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. May 30, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- ^ "Hear Best Coast Preview New Album With 'Everything Has Changed'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ "Bethany Cosentino Announces Debut Solo Album, Puts Best Coast on Indefinite Hiatus". Pitchfork. May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ^ Brodsky, Rachel (May 3, 2023). "Bethany Cosentino Announces Debut Solo Album As Best Coast Go On Indefinite Hiatus". Stereogum. Stereogum Media. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ Paul Lester (November 26, 2009). "New band of the day – No 677: Best Coast | Music | guardian.co.uk". Guardian. London. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
- ^ a b Jon Carimanica (September 16, 2011). "Not Quite Gone, A Punk Band Is Coming Back". The New York Times. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- Pitchfork Media. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
- ^ "Best Coast Announces North American Tour". Spin.com. July 5, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ "Best Coast's Cosentino uses her voice for more than just rock songs". Charlotteobserver.com. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ "Watch: Best Coast's 'Baby I'm Crying' being recorded in 3-D audio". Los Angeles Times. March 28, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ "Dusty Springfield, Dolly Parton Inspire Best Coast Follow-Up". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ Conti, Allie. "Surf-pop stars Best Coast simply want 'to write perfect pop songs'". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- Independent.co.uk. December 31, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ "Best Coast 'The Only Place' (live on 'Letterman')". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ "Best Coast announces new album California Nights". Consequenceofsound.net. February 18, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ Pan, Arnold (July 25, 2010). "Best Coast: Crazy for You". PopMatters. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
- ^ "No Small Ponds for Bethany Cosentino - By zruskin - September 20, 2017 - SF Weekly". September 20, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ Tavana, Art (May 4, 2015). "Every Best Coast Song, Ranked". Laweekly.com. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ "5 Alternative Rock Concerts You Don't Want to Miss this Summer". Theodtsseyonline.com. April 6, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ "Best Coast + Wavves + Cherry Glazerr". Timeout.com. January 5, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ "Best Coast for Dublin - Music - News - Hot Press". Hotpress.com. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ "Best Coast: A Surf-Rock Revival With 'Crazy For You'". NPR.org. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ "Getting Sweaty with Best Coast and Saint Motel". Independent.com. July 7, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ Asaph, Katherine St. "Review: Weezer Insists That Everything Will Be Alright in the End, and It Is". Time. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ "Best Coast announce third album, 'California Nights'". Entertainment Weekly. February 18, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ "Best Coast Confirm Debut Album". Clashmusic.com. June 9, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ Sullivan, Becky (December 30, 2011). "The Year In Garage Rock: 5 Favorites For 2011". Npr.org. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- New York Daily News. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
- ^ "New Best Coast album influenced by Gwen Stefani, The Go-Gos, Sugar Ray - NME". NME. May 2, 2014.
- ^ Minsker, Evan; Bloom, Madison (November 5, 2019). "Best Coast Announce New Album, Share New Song "For the First Time": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 6, 2019.