ALBUM OF THE DAY: BEST COAST’S FADE AWAY EP

Best Coast gives us that lo-fi, west coast sound we love, again. They may be criticized for sounding the same, always, but you have to admit it is iconic. Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno make us wish we were drinking beers and sitting on the beach enjoying the duo’s company. While the themes of  their Fade Away EP (released earlier this week) sound like downers – heartbreak and not knowing about life or yourself – the perkiness of every guitar chord and simple drum beats make dancing around in a bathing suit seem not so far-fetched in October.

While we don’t want Best Coast to change, on this EP you won’t find mod-podged cutouts of lolcats, the California coast and bud leaves making an appearance – the two have matured, some what. On the title track, “Fade Away” the lyrics are reminiscent of a so-called bullied, country singer we’d rather not name, ending the song with, “sick of you being mean, I didn’t do anything.” On “Who Have I become?” we realize we have no idea who we are, and we hate it – “I want to be somebody else. Sick of myself and how I feel,” ughh, life. Also, those tug-of-war relationships we try to not think about make the list – “you can have me everyday or we can go our separate ways”- in the 2nd track “I Wanna Know.”

While we all may be at the age where a “no fucks given” attitude is said to by now be ingrained into our brains and knowing yourself should be a given, we are mistaken – and Best Coast reminds us of that.  Fade Away is a wonderful contradiction – vulnerable and cheerful at the same time – and, well, we wouldn’t want it any other way.

PS. The EP was entirely produced by the band on Cosentino’s new label, Jewel City. She is definitely doing big girl things, and we applaud her.

Take a listen and pay close attention to tracks 1, 3 and 7 – those are our faves.