California Nights (Best Coast album)

California Nights is the third studio album by American rock duo Best Coast. It was released on May 1, 2015, by Harvest Records.[2] It was produced by Wally Gagel, who also produced the duo's 2013 EP Fade Away.[2]

California Nights
Studio album by Best Coast
Released	May 1, 2015 (2015-05-01)
Studio	Wax Ltd (Hollywood, California)
Genre	Indie pop alternative rock[1]
Length	43:22
Label	Harvest
Producer	Wally Gagel
Best Coast chronology
Fade Away (2013) California Nights (2015) Always Tomorrow (2020)
Singles from California Nights
"California Nights" Released: February 24, 2015 "Heaven Sent" Released: March 11, 2015 "Feeling Ok" Released: April 14, 2015 "In My Eyes" Released: February 23, 2016

The band announced the album along with tour dates and the release of a "dreamlike" video directed by Adam Harding for the title track, which also served as the lead single.[3] On the band's official website, singer-songwriter Bethany Cosentino described the band's approach to the making of the album, stating: "In LA, there's a real darkness that you don't see unless you know where to look. That's a theme we very consciously decided to explore and play with when making this record. We related to the idea that things may look or sound fun and upbeat, but they may not actually always be that way."[4]

A video for second single "Heaven Sent" directed by Lana Kim and Cosentino was released on April 1, 2015.[5] Third single "Feeling Ok" followed in mid-April, which the duo performed on Conan on May 5.[6] "In My Eyes" was serviced to US alternative radio on February 23, 2016, as the album's fourth single.[7]

Two outtakes from the album sessions, "Late 20s" and "Bigger Man", were released on an exclusive Record Store Day release in April 2016.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	69/100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
Consequence of Sound	B−[10]
Drowned in Sound	5/10[11]
The Guardian	[12]
Los Angeles Times	[13]
NME	7/10[14]
Pitchfork	6.4/10[15]
PopMatters	7/10[1]
Rolling Stone	[16]
Spin	8/10[17]

California Nights has received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 69 based on 26 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bethany Cosentino.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Feeling Ok"	3:16
2.	"Fine Without You"	3:21
3.	"Heaven Sent"	3:25
4.	"In My Eyes"	3:46
5.	"So Unaware"	3:03
6.	"When Will I Change"	3:52
7.	"Jealousy"	3:27
8.	"California Nights"	5:11
9.	"Fading Fast"	2:11
10.	"Run Through My Head"	4:00
11.	"Sleep Won't Ever Come"	3:58
12.	"Wasted Time"	3:52
Total length:		43:22

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of California Nights.[18]

Best Coast Bethany Cosentino – guitar, vocals Bobb Bruno – guitar, bass, keyboards Technical Wally Gagel – production, recording, mixing Seth Olansky – assistance Vincent Silva – assistance Howie Weinberg – mastering Gentry Studer – mastering assistance

Additional musicians Brady Miller – drums, guitar, percussion, keyboards Wally Gagel – percussion, bass synthesizer, keyboards, guitar Artwork Janell Shirtcliff – photography Lawrence Azerrad – design

Charts

Chart (2015)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[19]	43
US Billboard 200[20]	53
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[21]	3
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[22]	4
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[23]	5

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Australia[24]	May 1, 2015	CD digital download	Capitol
Germany[25]
United Kingdom[26]	May 4, 2015		Virgin EMI
United States[27]			Harvest

References

1. Hardmeyer, Casey (May 5, 2015). "Best Coast: California Nights". PopMatters. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
2. "California Nights by Best Coast". iTunes Store (Australia). Retrieved May 8, 2015.
3. Spanos, Brittany (February 24, 2015). "Best Coast Detail New Album, Release Dreamlike Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
4. "Best Coast". BestCoast.net. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
5. Claymore, Gabriela Tully (April 1, 2015). "Best Coast – "Heaven Sent" Video". Stereogum. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
6. Tan, Emily (May 6, 2015). "Watch Best Coast Perform 'Feeling OK' on 'Conan'". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
7. "Alternative > Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
8. "Reviews for California Nights by Best Coast". Metacritic. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
9. Sendra, Tim. "California Nights – Best Coast". AllMusic. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
10. Brennan, Collin (April 29, 2015). "Best Coast – California Nights". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
11. Moore, Sam (May 1, 2015). "Album Review: Best Coast – California Nights". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
12. Gibsone, Harriet (April 24, 2015). "Best Coast: California Nights review – LA teen rock demands attention". The Guardian. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
13. Roberts, Randall (May 4, 2015). "Review: Best Coast's 'California Nights' has a dark side". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
14. Andrews, Charlotte Richardson (April 21, 2015). "Best Coast – 'California Nights'". NME. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
15. Gordon, Jeremy (May 6, 2015). "Best Coast: California Nights". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
16. Hermes, Will (May 5, 2015). "Best Coast: California Nights". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
17. Carley, Brennan (May 4, 2015). "Review: Best Coast, 'California Nights'". Spin. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
18. California Nights (liner notes). Best Coast. Harvest Records. 2015. 2547166081.CS1 maint: others (link)
19. "Australiancharts.com – Best Coast – California Nights". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
20. "Best Coast Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
21. "Best Coast Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
22. "Best Coast Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
23. "Best Coast Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
24. "California Nights Best Coast". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
25. "California Nights" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
26. "California Nights". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
27. "California Nights by Best Coast". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved May 8, 2015.