Anthony Saia | rawr reviews
Pain, loss and yearning have been at the root of a lot of great pop singles. Crazy For You, the first full-length record by Bethany Cosentino and her Best Coast collaborator Bobb Bruno got a lot of mileage out of yearning.
Her song structures were basic and her production was made up of reverb-heavy, fuzzy nods to 1960s pop. Her lyrics confessed her pining for boys and the overwhelming feeling of being alone.
There was not anything thought provoking about Crazy For You, but there was something that caught the listener’s attention. Cosentino had the capability to hone in on a very specific type of angst and spin it in the simplest way possible.
However, Best Coast’s newest offering, The Only Place, is another story.
The album, produced by Jon Brion, has a dry sound where the guitars clang and twang instead of capture the fuzz from the previous record, but Cosentino’s voice is still strong and clear.
With this record, it seems Best Coast and Cosentino are trying to edge into the alt-country, singer-songwriter territory occupied by artists like Neko Case but it proves to be a poor fit. Cosentino shifts away from atmosphere and in the direction of personality and songwriting, but clarity and directness of lyrics are Best Coast’s weakness.
The record feels robotic instead of relatable as Cosentino embraces classic songwriting forms of the 50s and 60s and showing she might have an aversion to incorporating bridges into her songs.
The album doesn’t create anything new, but it certainly has its charms. Cosentino still has a fine voice and her persona is agreeable and warm. The songs are catchy and tend to stick with the listener after repeated plays — something that pop music is supposed to do.
She adds nice backing vocals to “Stand By Me” and channels AM gold on “Dreaming My Life Away,” while adding chords on “How They Want Me To Be.” The closing ballad “Up All Night” has the same feel as “Sleep Walk” by Santo and Jonny but all seem to lack originality.
Ultimately, what is odd about this album is the presence of Brion. Cosentino has said he pushed her to create tunes that were out of her comfort zone, however, there seems to be little evidence on this record to support that claim.
The album is slow and there’s no energy to balance out the banality that lies within.