Album: Best Coast, "Crazy for You" (Mexican Summer)
Fat reverb on a strummed guitar and layered female vocals over steady buoyant beats define the oh-so-hot Los Angeles trio Best Coast . They're restoring fun to garage rock, keeping their songs well under three minutes apiece and addressing elements of romance in the simplest of terms.
As much as they latch onto a single hook and let Bethany Cosantino get all frothy with her limited-yet-engaging vocals, it's not really a one-note act. They address a good number of subjects: ennui in "Goodbye," longing and confusion in "Our Deal" and the secret love of "When the Sun Don't Shine."
The irresistible melody of "Summer Mood" has no penetrating insights, yet it's the most delicious ice-cream cone of a song. And the repetition of the word "happy" in the one-minute, 45-second "Happy" gives the Human Beinz's "Nobody But Me" a run for the money in the use of a single word in a song.
"Crazy for You" -- 13 songs in less than 32 minutes -- is a confectionary delight. Derivative, yes, but it feels as if they have gone to the original sources for inspiration, the Shangri-La's and Phil Spector's denser hits, and realized the vocals need to share space with the instrumentation. Comparisons to the Jesus & Mary Chain and other modern girl groups hold water to a degree, but the amount of sunshine that drenches "Crazy for You" makes it a perfect soundtrack for a ride in the convertible.
