Best Coast | Interview

Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast is not too familiar with Ireland. Her band’s only appearance here came at Electric Picnic in 2011, and it was by all accounts a whirlwind visit. “We didn’t really get to see anything," she tells GoldenPlec. "We literally came in, played the festival and then got back on the bus straight to the airport and flew back to the US, so it was a super quick thing.”

So perhaps it is no surprise that Ireland is not as familiar with them as it should be.

Best Coast are best described as dreamy surf-rock; distinctly Californian. Their love of their hometown courses through their discography and appears as a frequent reference point; the cover art of their second album ‘The Only Place’ is literally a bear hugging California, and no prizes for guessing what that ‘Only Place’ refers to.

But there is no reason why Ireland should not be able to enjoy their wavy sounds, particularly in the early May sunshine which welcomes the release of their third album and major label debut ‘California Nights’.

Bandleader and songwriter Cosentino is a massive presence in their music, perhaps clearer than ever on ‘Ca/lifornia Nights’, as increasingly polished production allows her powerful vocals to resonate that bit more than on the band’s previous, distinctly lo-fi, efforts.

She started the band in 2009 with guitarist Bobb Bruno - she sends raw early cuts of tracks that she is writing for him to add to - and is humbled by the journey that they have been on ever since. “It’s a really nice feeling to be this band that started in my bedroom when I was 22, and now I’m 28 and my band is playing on the roof of Capitol records. It’s a very bizarre chain of events, but I couldn’t be happier about it,” she says, before adding, with as much pride and enthusiasm as someone so laid back can afford, “nobody has played on the roof since the Beastie Boys in I think like 1994."

In the past the band have faced criticism from detractors who felt that a lot of their songs sounded the same; something that should be done away with after the release of ‘California Nights’. Its polished sound is markedly different to the grainier, cheerier debut ‘Crazy For You’.

In truth, the band’s sound has been advancing gradually with each release, but criticism is not something that Cosentino allows to get under her skin. “I don’t really care what critics say: I don’t really read reviews. There are some reviews that I’ll see, if it’s a positive review I’ll be like ‘awesome’. If it’s negative I will kind of read it and just laugh out loud to myself because I think sometimes people say really stupid shit.”

Outside of music, Bethany has developed a strong social media presence through which she discusses normal life things: from Insomnia-driven late night Seinfeld marathons to her battle with anxiety. “I feel that’s part of the reason why our band is as successful as it is, because people can be like ‘oh Bethany is the goofy girl that talks about macaroni and cheese and Seinfeld’. There are a billion other girls thinking ‘thats exactly who I am’ and people can connect with that.”

A girl of retro pleasures, she mourns the downfall of the physical release, while acknowledging the benefits of streaming. ”I’ll stream an album on Spotify and then I’ll go out and buy it because I like to actually own records that I love. It’s like when people buy books for their iPads. I can’t transition to that world because I just love buying a book and having it in my hands and the way that it smells. There’s something about having it physically that’s really important to me and I feel the same way about music.” 

She also holds a view shared by many that Tidal’s rollout did the company few favours. “I just think that the way they approached it was very weird. I remember seeing the press conference and thinking it felt like weirdly futuristic and creepy in a way."

Many indie fans fear the worst when they hear the phrase ‘major label debut’, but Bethany has nothing but positive things to say about their relationship with new label Harvest, a subsidiary of gargantuan Capitol Records. “Harvest wanted to sign us after hearing only like three songs off the record, and then after hearing the record in it’s entirety they were like ‘we don’t wanna change anything about this’.

"I didn’t wanna do anything where we would have people coming in saying ‘hey we need a single’ and we need this and this. I just wanted to do it my way and I knew that things would pan out well and they did; very much so!"

Despite their growing popularity, she does not see them chasing massive crowds just yet, despite the larger sound of the new record. In fact, dipping their toes into the big, cold ocean of arena tours in a supporting slot with Greenday in 2013 was a bit of a shock to the system. “It was an honour to be asked to do that tour and to play with Greenday, but I sort of felt like the level we were at at the time, and even still today... I don’t know that we necessarily connect with playing in a gigantic arena like that.”

For now they are content to play smaller, more intimate shows, engaging with fans as closely as possible. “All I wanna do is make music and connect with my fans as much as possible and make music that people can relate to, and I think I’m achieving all of those goals!”

'California Nights' is out now.