Back in the late 1980s, there was a brief flurry of lo-fi indie guitar bands fronted by winsome girl singers, notably The Primitives and the louder, punkier Transvision Vamp. If those bands had emerged 20 years later bathed in Californian sunshine, they would probably have sounded rather like Best Coast.
Fronted by the engaging Bethany Cosentino, this Los Angeles duo's debut album is an instantly likeable sugar rush of tuneful, uncomplicated summer pop, effortlessly combining classic American girl group harmonies and fuzzy indie rock across 13 tracks each clocking in at well under the three minute mark.
All the tracks are very similar, with simple, direct lyrics about beaches, boys and Bethany's favourite feline friend -“I lost my job, I miss my mom, I wish my cat could talk," she trills on Goodbye - but that's one of the reasons Crazy For You works so well.
If every band was striving to produce Muse-inspired epic rock symphonies with classical piano interludes and choruses about medieval knights, then the world would be a dull place indeed. Best Coast revel in being an unapologetic one trick pony, and when that trick works time after time it would be churlish to knock them for it.
Rating: 7 out of 10. Some of the best music is the most basic, and you'll be singing along to this one in the shower for weeks. Not a record to stand the test of time, but one for savouring the moment. Recommended.
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