Wednesday 9.29
Best Coast @ Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancey St. 212-533-2111. $15. 9 p.m.
with Male Bonding
After releasing a handful of increasingly sophisticated EPs, California gurl Bethany Cosentino (along with drug buddy/instrumental whiz Bobb Bruno) finally dropped Best Coast’s debut LP, Crazy for You, just in time to soundtrack the second half of summer 2010. Continuing contemporary indie’s love affair with beach-blanket anthems, Crazy for You feels distinctly of-the-moment. But it’s also quite a throwback: It strongly recalls the early-’90s work of Liz Phair (particularly La Liz’s groundbreaking debut LP, Exile in Guyville), as well as much of the grungy, melodic indie rock recorded and released during that era. There’s also a deep aesthetic connection to the girl groups often associated with Phil Spector. And, of course, there’s a lot of Beach Boys here, too. But Cosentino isn’t aping her influences: Crazy for You is the work of a uniquely gifted singer and songwriter, and an American voice that seems strangely underrepresented in today’s pop-cultural landscape: She’s a cool, neurotic, post-feminism feminist with deep-rooted insecurities, a propensity for slacking, a hardcore romantic streak and talent to burn. Crazy for You may not be a revolutionary statement, but it is a statement just the same. And a hell of a good listen, too.
(Also appearing Sept. 30 @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, 66 N. Sixth St., 212-486-5400)
