Artist Best Coast

Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino spells out her California-girl fantasies in the minor-key moodiness of early-’80s post-punk and the boy-crazy coo of ’60s girl groups while mixing in varying levels of bleary fuzz. Although Best Coast’s debut, Crazy For You, is fairly sunny—like beach music for kids who reek of patchouli—tunes like “When I’m With You” and “Up All Night” contain a core of sadness, offering a romantic answer to the noisy, artsy work L.A.’s been known for lately (Health, Abe Vigoda, No Age, etc.). Her “insincere” songs about cats and weed had their critics, and Cosentino wears those bruises on the new album The Only Place, showing signs of lyrical maturity without disowning the simple pleasures of the debut.

Updated 05/17/2012