Arts & Life, Music

Best Coast’s third album ‘California Nights’ is mediocre at best

Picturesque summer days, palm tree-lined streets and broken hearts—the imagery of California continues to make its way into speakers remaining predictable in Best Coast’s “California Nights.”

From the very first song, “Feeling OK,” to the last track, “When Will I Change,” listeners will feel just that: OK, while wondering when anything more interesting will enter their ears.

Singer songwriter for Best Coast, Bethany Consentino, seems to stick to a California-centric theme and summer vibes along with love and heartbreak seen in their pervious albums “Crazy For You” and “The Only Place.”

The true gem is the record aptly named “California Nights,” which stands out on the album through a slow dreamy tone with psychedelic qualities. It is the only song that literally embodies what Best Coast set out to do in terms of sound and purpose.

And that is exactly where the other songs are lacking.

“In Los Angeles, or maybe just personally to me, when the sun sets – I feel like there is a large sense of calmness in the air,” Consentino said in the about section on the band’s website. “I feel like everything that happened to me prior in the day, whether crappy experiences or good ones, at night, it all goes away and I sink deep into this different kind of ‘world.’”

Best Coast has the perfect amount of alternative edge and talent to make a successful summer time album and they already did that with “Crazy For You” in 2010.

But that’s just it—they already did that. Fans can only take so many Cali-themed albums set for one season.

Based on titles alone, it’s easy to see Consentino did some soul searching when writing “Fine Without You,” “Wasted Time” and “Jealousy.”

“It’s about a journey, accepting the things you have no control over,” Constentino said, according to the website. “It’s about dealing with life like an adult, and at the end of the day, reminding yourself that there really is no reason to be sad, and you have every right to feel okay.”

Consentino addresses her own insomnia in “Sleep Won’t Ever Come.”

“I blame it on the moon / I blame it on my mood/ I blame it on the world cause it can be so cruel,” she sings in short, choppy vocals. The combination of frank lyrics is far from a lullaby. As Consentino’s voice is rather soothing on the track, the electric guitar from Bobb Bruno accompanied by various percussions detracts the vocals.

Quite a few tracks sing to everyone’s inner teenage girl with a pop vibe reminiscent of ‘60s surf rock.

Consentino’s voice bellows, saying “I treated you badly / We ended so sadly / Wish I didn’t care,” on “In My Eyes.”

“Jealousy” starts off with a smooth groove, but delves into the lyrics “Why don’t you like me / What’s with the jealousy,” creating a stark contrast to chill California vibes.

It’s almost as if they followed with some “sha la la la’s” to stick to the blueprint in a failed attempt to bring the groove back.

“Wasted Time” slows the album back down, after eight danceable tracks, since the title track, and calms the senses before the final song. Consentino’s vocals roll in “I don’t really mind all of this wasted time / I just wish I had something to show for it,” which will have unfortunately crossed listeners’ minds before this point in the album.

The album comes full circle at the last track “When Will I Change.” The vocals yearn for something new or at least to settle for “a friend who would tell me ‘I’m fine.’”

It seems as if the album is not really about literal California nights, but the overwhelming feeling of mediocrity that crosses the mind on restless nights and how exactly to be ‘OK’ with that.

If Best Coast focused closely on developing their sound to be more cohesive with the title track, they may have made more than a merely forgettable summer album.

“California Nights”

Release: May 4

Label: Harvest

Distributed By: Capitol Records

Rating: 1.5/5

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