Best Coast Tease Release of New Album ‘California Nights’

California sunny pop duo Best Coast announced the May 5th release of California Nights, their first full-length album since 2012’s The Only Place. In a short trailer, Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno unveiled the title and release date alongside a more psychedelic sound to boot. Watch the trailer below. 

California Nights will mark the band’s major label debut after seeing their two previous LPs released through Mexican Summer and 2013 EP Fade Away via Cosentino’s own imprint Jewel City. Now on Harvest, Best Coast seem to have ditched much of their lo-fi, garage pop sound for late-Sixties trippiness, with Cosentino hitting her full Grace Slick stride.

In 2013, Cosentino spoke with Rolling Stone about the band’s plans for the third album. At the time, they were working with Butch Walker in his Santa Monica studio and culling inspiration from both the Nineties and Drake. “The first record was super Sixties, the second record was really Seventies and this one is going to be really Nineties,” said the lead singer as she and Bruno prepared to begin working on what would become California Nights. It’s unclear how much of that early material, Nineties influence and collaboration with Walker will make it onto the finished album.

Best Coast recently signed up to perform at this year’s South by Southwest Music Festival. The duo will be joining Arcade Fire’s Will Butler, Bleachers, Unlocking the Truth, Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and more. This week, the band will be playing several dates around California, stopping first at Los Angeles venue The Echo on February 19th.