55. Crazy for You

Crazy for You by Best Coast
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Here's a charming retro band from California that delivers romantically forlorn tunes with a feminine touch. "Boyfriend" is a nostalgic tune of longing with a hint of a late 50s/early 60s musical influence (as many of their tunes demonstrate).

"Crazy for You" lyrically describes the frustration and ambivalence of being in love. Most of the tunes are short and similar to each other. There isn't much in the way of electronics or effects aside from creating the sense that Bethany Cosentino is singing in a music hall as her vocals tend to resonate.

"Summer Mood" is probably one of their more retro sounding tracks. This sounds very much like an oldie. It doesn't surprise me at all that this band is from California. There is a distinctly Californian quality to the simplicity of the songs. You don't have to think too hard about the lyrics. While the content of the songs deal with being sad rather than happy about love, it's still like a rainy day in California. It's not going to be for long.

While this album landed on many top 50 album lists for 2010, I'm not terribly impressed with it. I guess I was expecting more. I don't hate it obviously, but many of the songs sound like each other. The instrumental elements and musical structure of each track don't really differ from song to song by much.

"Honey" has a nice melody, but the dreadfully forlorn crooning of "honey" at the end of the song kind of rubs me the wrong way. It's just a really different way to hear that word.

If you want to go retro, I suggest listening to Broadcast. I feel that the late Trish Keenan had more to offer.



Track listing:

1. Boyfriend
2. Crazy for You
3. The End
4. Goodbye
5. Summer Mood
6. Our Deal
7. I Want To
8. When the Sun Don't Shine
9. Bratty B
10. Honey
11. Happy
12. Each and Everyday
13. When I'm With You (Bonus track)

*******************************

Who are Best Coast?