As usual, the dudes got it wrong. While the likes of Panda Bear and Arcade Fire were stroking their beards, wondering how to hide their tracks, the ladies went straight for the pop jugular unashamed, and rightly so.
Hiding in rooms filled with gloom? Not for them. Turn those Fleetwood Mac and Shop Assistants records up. Turn that reverb up! No, not as high as Times New Viking–just high enough so that thousands of harmonies gloriously spiral out the speakers. There are so many beautifully harmonizing bands out right now, but Best Coast is wonderfully, crazily near the top of the bunch. Main woman Bethany Cosentino is lost in a fuzzy dream of kittens and surf and Beach Boys’ standard melodies: the drums thump like every girl’s wish is to be Ronnie Spector; time lingers in a reverie of pop. Standout “Our Deal” floats hazily. “I Want To” yearns for childhood. Once inside, you’ll never want to leave.
