Best Coast - California Nights

Best Coast
California Nights
2015

Arena rock and Indie music don't typically make great bedfellows. The idea of each is so different, broad themes, sex and drugs usally don't fit well with the introspection and heartfelt love that Indie Rock often embodies. That being said Best Coast on their newest album California Nights seem to blend then two almost perfectly. This record could work just as well in front of thousands as it could in a small dingy club. What Best Coast have done with this album as opposed to their other releases is ditched the lo-fi aesthetic for a more powerful rock sound. Nothing is muffeled, you can hear Bethany Cosentino's voice perfectly throughout and that is a vast improvement. It shows that their ability didn't lie in low-fi kitch but rather in making really good rock music. The tracks do get a bit repetitive towards the end, but 12 tracks of music like this almost calls for making some similar songs.

Everything is vastly improved on this record and it is a great thing to hear. Best Coast took a risk in abandoning the style that made them famous but the gamble paid off and they have produced some really great music. My favorite tack off the album is "So Unaware", it really emcompasses what the record is about with a great guitar rift, driving drums and a really amazing rock vocal from Cosentino. For those looking to bask in some authentic California rock Best Coast is establishing themselves as the frontrunners of the genre. Listen to California Nights, you will not regret it. 

8 out of 10