By Marissa Mooney |Staff Writer|
Best Coast’s new album The Only Place dishes out a happier, more melodic mood compared to their previous works.
The title and opening track of the album, “The Only Place,” is a salute to the beach and a perfect send-off to the summer season. Bethany Constentino, the lead singer of the duo, joined by Bobb Bruno, sings about the love of her home state of California.
“Why would you live anywhere else?” Constentino sings. “We’ve got the ocean, got the babes. Got the sun, we’ve got the waves. This is the only place for me.”
The opening track draws in the listener with the band’s usual vintage-surfer era guitars, but as the album plays through, tracks like “Why I Cry” and “Do You Love Me Like You Used To” are reminiscent of the last album’s melancholic mood.
With her usual pop vibe, Constentino adds to her theme of romance and sadness with a little nostalgia settling in between those beach waves. The Only Place is an anthem to riding in the car with the top down along the coast and looking off into the haze for a long lost romance.
“No One Like You” gives off a 1950s slow-dance vibe while adding a slight romantic feel—something which sets it apart from the other vindictive lyrics in some of the other tracks.
“Let’s Go Home” picks up the speed and is one of the few songs aside from the title track that is irresistibly danceable.
The concluding track, “Up All Night,” ties into the familiar beach theme that started with the opening track, only less happy.
“You left me here in the cold/You left me here in the sea,” sings Constentino. The album ends with a slow-paced song with Constentino’s voice trailing off like a 1940s doo-wop group.
The short album, which is only 34 minutes long, is very personal to Constentino. Her habit of writing lyrics in her bedroom while she is thinking about sad memories of her past can be often related to many broken hearts.
The Only Place is a premature embrace of the upcoming summer season. Constentino gives a reminder that it is not only a sequel to Crazy For You, but also an album that readily stands on its own. This is a perfect album to listen to while on the beach or lying in bed with the window open and the summer heat entering in.
The album will be released on May 15 and can be bought off the band’s website, bestcoast.us. You can also check out their upcoming summer tour, starting May 18.
Photos
