Like Best Coast? Then Check Out These Five Artists
Los Angeles indie rockers Best Coast are part of a new wave of bands that borrow a bunch of styles from the '60s (especially surf rock, girl group and garage rock) without falling back on borrowed nostalgia. Frontwoman Bethany Cosentino likes to sing about her cat and getting high, but the best songs on Best Coast's two albums reflect a twentysomething artist's uncertainty in the world. These five artists draw from similar places.
Dum Dum Girls
Like Best Coast, this quartet of punk rock-loving women comes from Los Angeles. They also really like the '60s girl-group sounds of the Ronettes spiked with some Jesus and Mary Chain-style fuzz.
Girls
Like a couple of other "girl" bands here, this duo makes stripped-down indie rock informed by the past. Unlike those groups, these Girls are two guys from San Francisco. They recently broke up, but singer Christopher Owens has a solo album due early next year.
Surfer Blood
One of the leaders of the indie branch of modern-day surf rock, this Florida quartet loves to bathe its songs in echo, tremolo guitar and enough lyrical obscurity to keep things interesting -- just like Best Coast.
Vivian Girls
Look under the "R"s in this Brooklyn trio's record collection, and you'll probably find a well-worn vinyl copy of 'Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica.' Like Cosentino, these girls worship Ronnie Spector.
Wavves
The low-fi Wavves are really the bedroom project of Nathan Williams, who happens to be dating Best Coast's Cosentino. We're guessing they spend their alone time talking about their shared interest in modern surf punk and weed.