Crazy for You
4/5
People really ought to start bands with their old babysitters more often. We loved the smutty lo-fi charm of NYC’s Moldy Peaches (Kimya was Adam’s ’sitter), and now there’s Best Coast, aka Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno. Together they’ve created a terrific debut. Although she’s still only 23, Consentino is already an old hand at this music lark – at just 15 she was turning down major label offers and some years later her zonked-out reverb outfit Pocahaunted garnered enough buzz to support Sonic Youth. But it’s only as one half of Best Coast that the Los Angeles native has hit on something genuinely thrilling.
Transplanted to a New York college and missing the sea and surf, she consoled herself with the Beach Boys and ’60s girl groups. Consentino then dropped out and hooked up with Bruno, throwing those sunny influences in the pot with a pinch of grungy, fuzz-pop, and thus Best Coast was born. Lyrically she’s not much moved on from pining for boys (‘Boyfriend’, ‘I Want To’), getting irritated by boys (‘Crazy for You’) and crying over boys. At the album’s pinnacle is ‘Our Deal’, sumptuous with harmony swells and lyrics potent with what can never be communicated. Play it till the grooves wear down.
