Put "Always Tomorrow" on the Quarantine Queue
Hot as ever in her two piece pantsuit, Best Coast singer Bethany Cosentino parodies a disgruntled gameshow host. The lead singer goes full satire in the music video for their single "Everything Has Changed." And everything has.
The band kicked off the tour for their fourth studio album "Always Tomorrow" with back to back southern California shows. They started at Alibi Room in Palm Springs on Feb. 27, and with The Novo in downtown Los Angeles, Feb. 28. For some west coasters, this was when COVID-19 was still a rumor and social distancing was something from the Twilight Zone. Less than two weeks later, social distancing and safer-at-home protocols in LA knocked local show dates down like dominoes, with Best Coast to resume their tour tentative May 17 at Academy 3 in Manchester, United Kingdom.
Enter: "Always Tomorrow." The band's latest album of anthems is once again for beach witches and anti-socialites. Their fourth studio album, the band maintains their sunshine-madness, which occurs when an angst-inducing amount of sunny days pass, many spent indoors.
Although Cosentino is the face of the band, she is only half of the Californian duo. Bobb Bruno, who acts as the band's bassist and lead guitarist, in addition to drumming and producing, is the other original member of the band. Bruno can often be seen flexing his long rocker mop over the band's notorious riffs during shows.
Since the rapid success of their debut album "Crazy For You," a decade ago, the pair have been steadily doing the work of keeping the southern California rock sound surf-ready and melodic. "Always Tomorrow" is the all-grown-up reflection of "Crazy For You"; The albums peaked at 37 and 36, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 200. The "Boyfriend" who Best Coast and fans pined for on "Crazy For You" has been coveted, tamed, and moved-in with on "Everything Has Changed”:
"Now I'm cooking for two/ now I'm waking up every morning next to you/ I used to be so scared/ If everything's okay then what the hell do I complain about?"
The lyrics remain simple and internally reflective, often painting a still life of harsh sunshine against the shadowy reverb of Cosentino's vocals. The whole record develops their previous thesis on love and life.
This time around, the songs are less about pining for a faraway dream object and more about dancing closely and plainly with everyday daydreams and reality. The existence Cosentino croons of on their previous albums has seen unique milestones for which the narrator of the lyrics harbors gratefulness and guilt. "I used to think that I would die without you/ and no offense to you, but I'm doing fine, too," she sings on “For the First Time”, one of the most pop songs of the track.
Keeping up with their teenage charm, the band includes a signature bedroom slowdance soundtrack with "True." "Graceless Kids," the fourth track of the album, comes in rough and shadowy, ushering the listener out of the beachy sound of the first quarter of the album. The song boasts a classic, catchy, outro. This signature of the band's sound has made their music addictive to the listener since their debut.
"Master of My Own Mind," their token beacon- for-bedroom-boredom track, offers "for me there's always tomorrow/ even when I'm drowning in my sorrows/ gotta focus, gotta rewind, gotta stay the master of my own mind." It is refrains like these, on an album like this, that make the genre, the band, and the album a gift to its listeners. In uncertain times, the final lyrics of their final track, "Used to Be", repeat: "already letting go/accepting the unknown..."
The “Always Tomorrow” tour continues with the Sonoma Harvest Music Festival on September 12, in Sonoma, CA. Southern California fans have shows at both The Observatory in San Diego and The Observatory in Santa Ana on September 30 and October 1, respectively, to mark their calendars for after social distancing.
In honor of social isolation, Cosentino has also kicked off her own Podcast, BETHLINE, live every Wednesday at 3pm Pacific Standard Time. The podcast streams live from the Best Coast YouTube page. Hayley Williams of Paramore was a previous show guest. Cosentino noted on the show that it's, "cool to give myself something to look forward to one day a week these days," adding that she's "very grateful for the platform." It also gives fans something to look forward to while Best Coast and other beloved music acts await the green light to take the stage again.
