the band formed in 2009, but before that bethany was a "show baby" who performed at zillions of talent competitions, and while still in her teens, bethany (as bethany sharayah) wrote and recorded teenie bop love songs which she uploaded to her myspace page.  she actually became pretty popular.

“i had interest from major labels," she said in a 2009 interview with popsense.  "and it was kind of overwhelming and i realized that i wasn't ready to be a ‘pop princess.”

after that, while in school at eugene lang college in ny, bethany  performed in the band pocahaunted.  soon after, she moved back to la, partnered with bobb, and started working on best coast demos.

according to npr, in best coast, bethany "departs from her former band's hazy, dreamy soundscapes and instead crafts short, energetic pop songs filled with crunchy surf rock guitars and keening '60s girl group vocals."

they soon released a bunch of ep’s on vinyl, and one on cassette tape.  as they began to tour, their profile continued to expand, ultimately culminating with the release of their über romantically cute video for “when i’m with you.”  more recently, bethany, along with rostam batmanglij (vampire weekend) and kid cudi (rapper and co-star of hbo’s how to make it in america) released the insanely cool single, “all summer,” for converse.  watch a live version here.

best coast released their debut lp, crazy for you, which featured her cat “snacks” on the cover, july 27, 2010.

crazy for you "seems an effortless collection of songs built on throwback pop sensibilities and uncomplicated melodies as powerful and golden as the california rays whence they came," wrote carrie battan.  "the debut full-length's straightforward sound is mirrored by an overarching sentiment: for someone whose world revolves around her next bud light and the whims of a cat named ‘snacks,’ frontwoman bethany cosentino is consistently lovesick."

click here for their 2010 sxsw gig recorded by seattle’s kexp.  don't forget, the album cover image always links to sample songs and the band's image to their website.

check here to see if best coast have any gigs scheduled near you.

as always, please buy this album from your local independent music store by people who know and love music and not from retailers like wal-mart (soulless, globally-homogenizing, community-killers) or i-tunes (albums should be listened to as an entire composition with album cover and liner notes in hand).  incidentally, these two companies sell more music than any other retailer in the united states.  that my friend, bites.

best coast are prime.

if you agree, please spread the word (about the band and this site).

jason

don't worry if you missed the stars profile from last week: here it is.

mexican summer


mexican summer