Best Coast are back. California Nights is exactly what you’d expect from Best Coast. Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno have come a long way from 2010’s Crazy For You–but not too far. Their third full-length album is full of love letters to the west coast, and the charming pain that comes with heartbreak. We’ll take you through your first listen: Here’s our play-by-play of California Nights.
The album opener is a self-love jam. It’s bright and sunny and is perfect for mornings you wake up feeling like today’s going the be the best day of your life.
Lyric: Baby look at me with those eyes of grey/But I’ll keep trying to stay this way/I know it’s love that’s got me feeling ok
I literally thought this was the “I Wanna Know” from Fade Away because the intros are the exact same. “Fine Without You” is for the same day that starts with “Feeling Ok”–but after your ex-boyfriend you thought you were over Instagrams a pic of him and his new girlfriend.
Lyric: If you spend all your life chasing after him/Eventually you will find/That there was nothing right/To begin with
This is the type of song you would put on a mixtape for your boyfriend titled “I’m Sorry for Being Shitty”
Lyric: When you were gone I wasn’t good I wasn’t fine/I woke up in the morning losing my mind/I just want you to know that I think that you are/Heaven sent
This is angsty while still being light-hearted and fun. It’s a song about being more mad at yourself for still having feelings about things that you think shouldn’t matter anymore (But they do matter) (And it’s okay).
Lyric: I treated you badly/We ended so sadly/Wish I didn’t care
I imagine 17-year-old me listening to this in my bedroom while hugging a throw pillow and asking myself what I’m going to do with the rest of my life. I’m listening to a 7″ of this on my turntable. (In this fantasy, I live in 1978, a time where people still bought records paid for music.)
Lyric: “Whats is life? What is love?/Whats the meaning of it all?/Do I even care or is it just that I’m so unaware?”
To the same effect of “So Unaware”, I can already tell this is a song about feeling not having it all figured out. And feeling like you’re still a kid even though you have to pay taxes and worry about things like getting your passport renewed.
Lyric: Visions of hope, visions of love/More than before/I want them to come
Typical Best Coast. Infectious melody, bad lyrics. I do appreciate the sha-la-la-las, though.
Lyric: We share the same cares/The same ideas/Why don’t you like me?/Why don’t you like me?
The title track is rebellious and airy. It makes me feel like I’m floating. Or like I’m driving down the coast with my best friends. The sun is setting and everything is going in slo-mo.
Lyric: Fading back and forth/I fly through my mind/I fade the way I’ve known/But have I really gone
Major country vibes. And with a pleading “Get out of my head, get out of my head, get out of my head”, this feels very Best Coast.
Lyric: This love will be the death of me/And you’ll always be a part of me/In dreams, I see you when I cry/I wish that I could realize
Infectiously catchy. This will be the ultimate sing-along jam of the their summer tour. It’s a surprisingly cheery tune made out of the upsetting inner monologue you have when you’re trying to make sense of why a relationship fell apart.
Lyirc: I guess I’m lonely and you are too/This is the last thing I wanna go through
This song makes me want to do the opposite of sleep . I imagine this to be the music to sway to on summer nights in backyards after a few (too many) drinks.
Lyric: Can’t you tell by the look of my face?/I don’t feel like I’m floating through space
Ending with a ballad is a go-to Best Coast move. Not the best Best Coast closer (try saying “best Best Coast closer” five times fast) but still good.
Lyric: I don’t mind all this wasted time/I just wish I had something to show for it