Best Coast at The Borderline

Best Coast
Fear Of Men
The Borderline, 18 September 2012

Apparently Best Coast are pretty cool right now: they've been on the cover of trendy magazines, the hipster blogs love them and singer Bethany Cosentino has even designed a range of clothes for the yawn-inducingly hip clothes chain Urban Outfitters. So by all rights I shouldn't be here, I feel worryingly out of place until I spot a bunch of older gentlemen who obviously have no clue who the band are and have been persuaded to come along by their younger friend who appears to be the only fan among them. Still, despite this I can't help enjoying Best Coast's sunny, feel-good surf-pop and I'm looking forward to seeing them play the tiny Borderline as part of a brief low-key tour of smaller venues.

Best Coast released their second album, The Only Place, earlier this year and divided opinions by abandoning the lo-fi sounds of their debut and going for a more produced pop vibe. But tonight the new songs fit in perfectly with the old ones, so to be honest I don't understand the fuss. The duo is expanded to a four-piece with bass and drums joining Cosentino and guitarist Bobb Bruno and together they remind me of Rilo Kiley in their lighter moments, Bethany playing the part of the mini dress-wearing, guitar-playing California girl, singing of boyfriends, L.A. and sunny days. It's hardly deep stuff but it is fun, especially on a chilly, September day in London, and the crowd seems mad for them, Bethany in particular (several of the guys in the front row are not only filming the entire thing on their cameras and phones but also singing along to all the lyrics). Living up to her image, the first thing she says to the audience is that she was told it was hot in the venue, "this isn't hot" the Cali girl informs us with a beaming smile, "although maybe they meant the audience is hot" she jokes, winning the hearts of all the fanboys and girls forever.

There's no denying that their songs are pretty similar, most being two or three minute jangly upbeat numbers, but this means they manage to fit in quite a bit during the hour they play and it's pretty hard to get bored through the feel-good 17-song set list. For me the best moments are courtesy of the classic pop of The Only Place and the slower How They Want Me To Be, which recalls the heartbreak and harmonies of the best 60s girl groups. Bruno concentrates on his guitar and barely says a word but Cosentino is chatty and amiable showing off her new cup holder for her beer on her mike stand (some were impressed but Greg Dulli had that years ago during his drinking days) and amusingly tells us they ate for the first time at Nando's, giving it the thumbs up (perhaps looking for another endorsement deal - can you imagine?). 

They end the whole thing in timely fashion on perhaps their most loved song, Boyfriend, which naturally gets a great reaction, and they leave the crowd wanting more by playing no encore. I'm not sure if this is a usual thing for them or just that they had played almost all their songs but for me it was the perfect way to end the show and I'm glad they didn't return. Last time they were here apparently they played Shepherd's Bush Empire but really I can't imagine them in a bigger venue, their garage pop and Bethany's girly heartfelt vocals seem better suited for a place like this, but what do I know, I said the same thing about The White Stripes!

A small word about their support act, Fear Of Men (great name!), a four piece made up of two girls and two boys that reminded me of 90s bands like Sleeper and Lush. I wasn't expecting much but I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed their set and how memorable their songs, such as Doldrums and Ritual Confession, were, which is a very good sign indeed.