Recap Best Coast at the Triple Rock

Say what you will about the much talked-up and blogged-down, lo-fi surf-rockers Best Coast; they seem to have a few things figured out. First and foremost on that list is how to construct heartfelt pop ballads about love and longing over loose, catchy shoegaze guitar drone. Bethany Cosentinoʼs rough-around-the-edges but charmingly upbeat vocals—usually invoking lines about pining for boys and smoking weed—may be nothing new, but they still hit home. Given the band’s obvious affinity for ’60s surf pop, it isn’t exactly bringing a lot of groundbreaking innovation to the table. But with a steadily growing fanbase after just one LP and a few EPs and seven-inches, apparently no one seems to mind all that much.

Best Coastʼs Thursday night visit to a crowded Triple Rock Social Club showed that even with only a handful of songs in its pockets, it still wants to put on a rock show, and coming off the momentum of strong Sub Pop openers Male Bonding, the band more or less did. Although Cosentino isnʼt the most animated frontwoman in the history of rock ’n’ roll, her vocals were strikingly spot-on for a live show. Rolling through their LP, Crazy For You, Bobb Bruno and Cosentinoʼs boisterous, crashing guitars got a bit muddled at times, but thatʼs pretty much what Best Coast sounds like anyway. In a live setting, it all just plays like collateral damage.

Predictably, crowd-pleasers like “Goodbye,” the slowed-down “When Iʼm With You,” and the album’s title track were probably the band’s strongest points. After an hour and a short encore, theyʼd run out of material and the crowd had run out of enthusiasm. Best Coast is basically one big whimsical, droning song. Yeah, itʼs a good track, but the dose is best served short and sweet. If that song goes on for another few albums will the appeal run out? Maybe.