Friday 29/04/11 Best Coast @ KOKO, London

Best Coast’s leading lady Beth Consentino is on sparkling form this evening, channeling her inner Jerry Seinfeld in regards to the Royal Wedding which took place mere hours ago. “What’s the deal with the hats?” she asks. Adding: “I had the biggest crush on Prince William, until he went bald.”

It’s this candid and funny tongue that has got Best Coast to where they are tonight, packing out a venue that just a year ago they could only visit as fans. “Last year we played in Camden and then came to KOKO to see Teenage Fanclub play” says Beth, having a ‘pinch me, is this real?’ moment. It’s a richly deserved reward though, with the bands debut album ‘Crazy For You’ packing enough hits to keep the rooms royally infused sense of fun going all night. ‘Our Deal’ is dedicated to William and Kate whilst ‘Boyfriend’ and ‘I Want To’ get the three piece  simplistic, romantic hearts beating faster than ever.

Best Coast are not a particularly clever band but nor do they aspire to be. Fast, furious and fun they deliver short and unforgettable moments of Cali slacker pop with a cheeky aplomb. ‘When I’m With You’ remains their stellar moment and is a benefactor of the bands new found muscle, taking the lo-fi and making it sound ten stories hi. In between jokes involving Smirnoff Ice and Victoria Beckham (alas, not together) the juice of ‘Crazy For You’ is wrung dry and two new songs are also unveiled. One of these, ‘When You Wake Up’, details Beth’s boyfriend always rising at the same time of the morning. Fans of alt-rock gossip will be keen to hear that Nathan from Wavves gets up at 11:30am.

A clear sign of progress, tonight’s show firmly spikes Best Coast flag in the ground of the music scene right now. Give it another year and Camden will need to find an even bigger space to fit the band into.