One of the albums which really got me through the pandemic was Best Coast’s Always Tomorrow – a blissfully catchy set of songs about the journey towards self-acceptance, sobriety and security. At the time when the world was shutting down those songs about shedding your old skin and learning how to look after yourself really hit a nerve.
So, a few years later, it’s not a huge surprise to me to learn that Bethany Cosentino has gone solo. Starting over, embracing a new life was central to so many of the old songs that the natural next step would be to begin again, moving away from her youthful indie rock and pop punk influences. While Best Coast had always felt like her voice, her project, (no offensive to drummer Bobb Bruno intended) using her own name for her music feels like a chance to really express her individuality.
Bethany has been sharing a lot of country songs on her social media, as well as pictures of herself in Nashville, so when I first heard about the solo record I did imagine something country or at maybe something indie folk like Plains. However it’s actually really refreshing to hear this record and find that she’s gone for something completely different. The sound is like a more scuzzy Sheryl Crow, Lilith Fair, 90s style but with an indie edge.
Of course the thing with Sheryl Crow and those types of artists from that era was that they did often aim for commercial sounding music made for mainstream radio. Bethany’s title track ‘Natural Disaster’ is less ‘soak up the sun’ and more ‘soak up the climate change’ and it’s all the better for it. And that Californian sound that so much of Best Coast was built on remains strong here – but now we’re in parking lots rather than the beach, frying in the heatwave, trying to embrace the chaos of life.
‘It’s Fine’ is more laid-back, cool, like a shrug of acceptance or a raise of an eyebrow. She’s not fine but she’s evolved enough now to know how to deal with this shit. That little waver in her voice towards the end is kind of telling. Nothing gets easier, we just learn to adapt.
Epic ballad ‘Easy’ lets her voice really shine, but lyrically she’s somewhat uncertain of this new style, worrying about sounding ‘cliched’ and ‘cheesy’. Writing straight love songs like these must be difficult when you’re used to being wry and witty, but you can see that she’s doing her best to embrace this new love, this new life and it’s working for her.
There’s more of the apocalyptic Sheryl Crow on ‘A Single Day’, and then ‘My Own City’ celebrates rebirth, going round the backroads rather than the obvious route.
‘For a Moment’ questions really the point of anything in the face of climate chaos. Uncertainty is all that is certain about the future. So she just tries to embrace love, even if life is fleeting. There’s a joy to this song, a feeling of finding love among the ruins of the world.
The 90s country influence does appear on ‘Calling on Angels’ where she’s searching for a miracle. It would be fun to hear her go further with this style going forward as you feel she’s somewhat shied away from embracing the Nashville sound, despite recording the album in the city.
The album then finishes on a series of quieter, mellow gold moments with ‘Real Life’, ‘Hope You’re Happy Now’ and ‘It’s A Journey’ exploring the consequences of growing up, moving on and embracing your future.
She finishes with a raw love song, ‘I’ve Got News for You’, which producer Butch Walker has essentially left in demo form. ‘Let somebody love you, love somebody too,’ is the final line of the record – a reminder that the work of finding out who you are means you have to let other people in.
‘Natural Disaster’ feels like a breath of fresh air, okay maybe the air is slightly polluted by the crap of this world and the baggage we all bring, but when you open those windows and let the breeze in you feel good all the same. Soak it up.
BUY: https://bethanycosentino.bandcamp.com/album/natural-disaster
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