Crazy For You [CD]

The sound of summer has arrived and its utterly joyous and endearing (just ignore the oil on the beach). Best Coast are a surf/pop/gospel group from Los Angeles who comprise the wonderfully named Bethany Cosentino, who writes and records with her great chum Bobb Bruno. They state as their key influences California boys, Connie Francis, Stevie Nicks and cats which is nicely eclectic. Indeed "cats in sun glasses" figure extensively on their blog and the little ginger moogy on the cover of this album could try to look a bit happier (although its true the poor feline is in the water) since this record is one that is destined to put a huge smile on your face.

The band have already put out one of this years great singles "Boyfriend" which you should beat a path down to your local Spillers to appropriate. It is a huge slice of sun kissed pop and near Fleetwood Mac style rock that screams modern classic. Cosentino's vocal is swathed in reverb and she punctuates it with immortal lines of dumped regret. These include the rueful "The other girl is not like me"/ She's prettier and skinnier/ She has a college degree/ I dropped out when I was 17/ If only I could get her out of the picture/ Then he would know how much I want him". It is truly one of the best songs of the year thus far although it may have an equal in "Our Deal" which comes from that classic throwaway pop of the Shirelles with massive "ooh's and aah's" harmonies and the sun blazing in the background and if its not then you can listen to the lovely "When the sun don't shine".

Cosentino does have some similarities in her voice to the great Neko Case and no more is more evident than on one of the albums true highlights "Summer Mood" a beach ballad of the highest order destined to soundtrack summer flings, romance and broken hearts. Only one song on "Crazy for you" breaches the three minute mark (and that's only by 2 seconds) and the while album just about tops thirty minutes. That said the length is perfect packed as it is with no filler or wasted moments. Thus it goes without saying that "The End" is not a cover of Jim Morrison's 12 minute Oedipus complex monster but a roaring pop song with a broad grin and heart warming lyric as is the Vivian Girls style rush of the title track "Crazy for you" (Note - drummer Ali Koehler of the VGs has joined the band). Finally the album finishes with their first single "When Im with you" which sounds like Sonic Youth mixed with Beach boys and brings this delightful and winning debut album to a roaring finish. "Crazy for you" is classic sweet surf pop and completely endearing so much so that you can almost feel the sand between your toes.

Appearing hazily out of the lo-fi community, and now a long way from her Pocahaunted days, Bethany Cosentino has cleaned up her sound and track roster for her debut LP Crazy For You, and it opens an interesting discussion.

There's no doubt she and Bobb Bruno are prolific - they have at least another album's worth of material worth collating and (re)releasing formally and none of it appears on Crazy For You, except for the superlative "When I'm With You", which appears as the bonus track in certain regions.

Other, fuzzier numbers have been omitted entirely. For example, the lingering previous single "Sun Was High (So Was I)" is nowhere to be found, and the likeable, lower-still-fi of "Up All Night" is also absent. And some of Cosentino's cleaner edits have met with the cutting room floor too. There's no room for the short energy blast of the entirely complimentary "Far Away", nor the wholly loveable "Something In The Way". All these snippets ought really to be taken in parallel with Crazy For You because they are part of its evolution, sometimes superior, and would perhaps have given it more backbone.

As justification, it's likely that Cosentino feared these cuts have been subject to over-exposure, thanks to their extended popularity in the blogosphere, and Crazy For You has definitely ousted most traits of Best Coast's lo-fi past, perhaps apart from Bruno's fuzzed-up bass work on "Bratty B". In its place, Cosentino offers straight pop and therefore Crazy For You makes great sense as a commercially viable collection, just that in places it seems to lack the grit that earlier numbers could have provided. See the throwaway closer "Each And Every Day" if you want proof.

This said, and to all of Best Coast's credit, Crazy For You is still great and we are undoubtedly spoilt by Ms. Cosentino's prolificacy. Repeated plays reveal a summery collection of light echo-y pop, but also a near-immaculate one that blows any initial disappointment right out the water.

"Boyfriend" is a lazy jewel with a punch that shouldn't be underestimated, "The End" a surf number driven by summery bass, and "Happy" a silly, giddy little track about nothing much in particular. It's arguably one-dimensional stuff, but it's a cracking dimension nevertheless, one perhaps given a little depth with the darker sounding "Honey" and its droning vocal and ominous drumming.

Best Coast have always mined a 60s girl-group vibe, and this is happily intact for this album release. Its echoes, jangles and hooks play out nicely at various intervals, and noticeably bob smiling to the surface in "Our Deal", shuffling along on one of Phil Spector's own drum patterns. "Goodbye" even comes on like arch-slackers Weezer, as tackled by a latter-day Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and "I Want To" robs Interpol's Carlos Dengler blind with its bass work, only slowing it funereally and adding more girl-group percussion and jangle.

Crazy For You isn't crazy at all as it turns out. Wily Ms. Cosentino has more than made it work.

Advised downloads from Crazy For You: "Boyfriend", "Honey" and "I Want To". Also grab "Sun Was High (So Was I)", "Something In The Way" and "When I'm With You" immediately.

It comes in a "vinyl replica" form. Why can't all CDs come in such a way? I say "Ditch the crystal clear box forever, right NOW!" At barely more than 31 minutes (including a bonus track), this CD packs a punky pop masterpiece. More now than The Like (Release Me), more efficient than Tender Trap (Dansette Dansette), however good were the last efforts by both bands, Best Coast offer you nothing but a good sun-kissed time and don't overstay their welcome. So much so that you are tempted to press the repeat button.