Best Coast Duo have announced an “indefinite hiatus”, as frontwoman Beth Cosentino reveals details of her debut solo album. Check out lead single ‘It’s Fine’ below.
The singer-songwriter announced the new project today (May 3), and confirmed that she will be turning her efforts towards creating solo material for the foreseeable future.
Set for release this summer, the new LP ‘Natural Disaster’ is set to see Cosentino explore new avenues as a musician, and venture away from the understated indie-pop sound she has delivered in the past. The album is described as a “radiant form of pop rock”, inspired by female pop icons, including Bonnie Raitt and Sheryl Crow.
Written across Nashville and Los Angeles and produced by Butch Walker, Cosentino has shared her debut single from the release, ‘It’s Fine’ — a track that she says encompasses the sound of the album best.
“It is the song Cosentino was born to write and sing,” explains the press release. “Putting her incredible voice – rich and full – front and centre to detail making sense of a world where there is none.” Check out the track below, featuring a music video directed by Jannell Shirtcliff.
Discussing the decision to pursue a solo career — over 10 years after staring out with Best Coast in 2009 when she was aged 22 — Cosentino described the choice as being motivated by self-discovery and a desire to evolve as a musician.
“My identity as a human being, and as an artist, has been so wrapped up in Best Coast for over a decade,” she said. “The decision to pause the project indefinitely, and explore a new side of myself, was a very difficult one to make – but it felt necessary for me.
“Life is too short to not give yourself what you feel you need and want. I am excited about being just Bethany Cosentino for a while and figuring out who I am outside of the ‘Bethany from Best Coast’ box I’ve lived in for such a long time.”
‘Natural Disaster’ is due out on July 28 via Concord. Pre-order the album here and find the full tracklist below.
The ‘Natural Disaster’ tracklist is:
1. ‘Natural Disaster’
2. ‘Outta Time’
3. ‘It’s Fine’
4. ‘Easy’
5. ‘A Single Day’
6. ‘My Own City’
7. ‘For A Moment’
8. ‘Calling On Angels’
9. ‘Real Life’
10. ‘Hope You’re Happy Now’
11. ‘It’s A Journey’
12. ‘I’ve Got News For You’
Further elaborating on her decision to put Best Coast on an indefinite hiatus, Cosentino added that it was a mixture of factors that led to the break – namely the series of global events that have unfolded over the past few years, and the realisation that she has changed because of them.
“I kept proclaiming to the world ‘I’ve changed, I’ve evolved!’ but I hadn’t gotten to the place I really wanted to be yet. It became really clear to me that I needed to push myself into a completely different direction. Because the road I was on was just ultimately taking me back to square one,” she said.
“When I look at all the artists I find most influential, the common thread is that they take risks and continue exploring different versions of themselves,” she added. “My goal is to keep growing and challenging myself and living outside any kind of box.”
Cosentino first formed Best Coast with guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno back in 2009, in Los Angeles. Since forming, the indie-pop duo released four full-length albums — the most recent of which being 2020’s ‘Always Tomorrow’.
Discussing the album with NME, Cosentino spoke about her struggle to find inspiration for the album, and how the determination to see it through helped her gain confidence as an artist.
“I was struggling a lot. I honestly questioned the possibility of whether I would ever be able to make music again,” she said. “But I learned through all this work I’ve done, gaining this relationship with myself… there’s a separation between what I think of my art and what others think of it. And what others think of me is truly none of my fucking business.”