It’s been a busy couple of years for Best Coast since the Pacific-loving act released its debut, Crazy For You. The act’s lo-fi take on So-Cal sunshine pop turned a lot of heads, of course, landing in the Billboard pop charts, scoring coveted support-band slots on big-name tours, and garnering tons of mainstream and blogger press. As her band was finding its footing, Bethany Cosentino was also finding her own, growing up and refining her songwriting. The growth’s readily apparent on the act’s new album, The Only Place. Produced by Jon Brion, the album ditches lo-fi for high-dollar studio polish as Cosentino’s lyrical focuses evolves beyond flirtatious crushes. Before the act’s upcoming tour, The A.V. Club spoke with Cosentino about growing up in the spotlight.
The A.V. Club: People seemed to be really fond of the lo-fi production values of Crazy For You. Are you afraid they might not understand a polished Best Coast album?
Bethany Cosentino: No. I think that people definitely liked the production values of the first record, and I think the band grew, and we grew as musicians and songwriters, and we wanted to show that growth. That’s why we chose to do a bigger, more produced record. The people who really enjoy the songwriting and the songs will… you can hear things a lot better this time around. I think if people are in it for the music, they will probably appreciate this record a bit more.
AVC: You talk about growing as a band, but the album’s title track is another song about loving California, which is pretty much what people expect from Best Coast.
BC: The record is really about, it comes from a point of view of being very homesick and feeling like my feelings were all over the place because of the fact that I was so busy and scatterbrained and traveling all the time. “The Only Place” is in reference to my home, which is Los Angeles. As soon as I get back here, I just feel more like myself. My stress level instantly decreases. The title track is really supposed to be setting you up for this place that is almost this fortress of solitude for me, that kind of place that has become my safe place. That was the meaning behind “The Only Place.”
AVC: Before starting the band, you briefly went to college in New York to study nonfiction writing. Did that shape the way you approach songwriting?
BC: Not really. The thing is, when I was living in New York, I was studying creative writing, but focusing on nonfiction. I was writing mostly about California and my experiences as a child here, and the differences with New York. I think, if anything, it just shaped me more as a California-obsessed person. It made me appreciate where I’m from. I think that whole idea is what spawned Best Coast. I don’t think Best Coast would have started had I stayed in California and continued doing what I was doing before I left for New York. Just the idea of how personal things are, and the idea of writing about personal experiences, I think that’s probably inspired by the way I wrote in college.
AVC: You’ve said that you don’t really like going to the beach or swimming. Isn’t that kind of a weird contrast to the image of a California-obsessed woman your songs foster?
BC: I think I represent a different kind of California girl. I do like the beach and I do like going to the beach, but I’m not the biggest fan of swimming in the ocean. I just think it’s kind of creepy. I think that my personality is more of a laid-back, relaxed… more into the Valley and the other side of Los Angeles that people don’t get to experience, the mountains and hiking and things like that. People just instantly think of California as the ocean, the beach, Santa Monica, Malibu—areas like that. I represent the East Side of Los Angeles, a little more of the city aspect of it. I think that’s my role as a California girl.