Caught in the Net: New music from Best Coast

Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast

The second album of LA band Best Coast arrives in mid May. I’ve previously written about the lead off song (and title track) “The Only Place” which continues in the vein of their debut album in offering lashing of West Coast surf pop meets garage rock - with newly added hints of country rock and Neutral Milk Hotel. The track can still be downloaded free at bestcoast.us.

In the lead up to the LP’s release, Best Coast frontwoman Bethany Consentino has put together a Spotify playlist of music that inspired the album for The Independent: it's a laid back collection of tunes, including the likes of Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline, the Go-Gos and lots of Fleetwood Mac.

Here's what Bethany Consentino had to say about the playlist:

“This playlist consists of songs I listened to in my car while driving to and from the studio. I spent a lot of time in my car during the recording process, so I made sure to listen to a lot of songs that inspired me in some way. All of these songs influenced me - from the vocals, to the guitar tones, to the California sound of some of them - they all made me feel happy and energized on my way to the studio and back home again. I'd say this is a playlist of really great driving songs.”

Peaking Lights release single ahead of new LP

I’ve banged on several times about how much I loved last year’s record 936 by the LA dub pop duo Peaking Lights. Happily the husband and wife pair, Indra Dunis and Aaron Coyes, aren’t hanging around and soon have a brand new album out. It’s called Lucifer and released on 18 June. Last week the first single from the LP emerged: the new track is the caps lock friendly “LO HI”, streaming at snd.sc/HSP3bI. Rolling out over seven minutes it’s another fine eclectic lo-fi workout pulling in divergent analogue and digital sounds. Also, look out for the backing vocals - or more like backing squeals from the couple’s newly born son Mikko. Good to see them putting the kid to work early.

Purity Ring announce debut album and offer new download

The Canadian electro duo Purity Ring this week announced the July release of their debut album Shrines through UK label 4ad. To mark the occasion they offered up a new track from the record to download at purityringsongs.com. Said song, “Obedear”, showcases their strange sound nicely: equal parts dreamy and sinister, the track finds singer Megan James’ child-like vocals floating over sparse electronic sounds.

Stones Throw podcasts

Indie hip hop label Stones Throw throw out a fine podcast each week (stonesthrow.com/ podcast), with a different musician dropping in to put together a mix of music that floats their boat. In the latest - their 72nd episode - Beastie Boy Mike D got together with dj/producer and Stones Throw founder Peanut Butter Wolf to knock up an enjoyable mix of tunes and chat (like a skewered drivetime radio show, perhaps) with music from the likes of Public Enemy, Kraftwerk, Adam Ant and KRS-One. While playing New Order Mike D also found time to posit the interesting theory that with his somewhat limited vocal range, Bernard Sumner is more akin to an MC than singer. He means that as a compliment, of course.

This article features Listen With Spotify.