Mick's Party Album Pick: California Nights by Best Coast

Bethany Cosentino, lead singer of the duo that fuels the group Best Coast, is infatuated with California. That infatuation got her in trouble as an artist – critics said she was obsessed and one-note. But she turned around and sonically shot her critics the bird with her (and her musical collaborator, guitarist Bobb Bruno's) latest album, California Nights.

Apparently, Cosentino and Bruno have no more fracks to give – They doubled down and made an album that takes the listener to LA and on a road trip along the PCH. The songs are Go-Gos Gone To War, with raw guitar riffs driving the beat and clean vocals (no screaming) delivering lyrics that present love as bittersweet obsession. The pulse of the tracks echoes the roots of alt music in the 1960s California surf scene.

California Nights has staying power because, bottom line, it is interesting.

Photo: Janell Shirtcliff