Natural disaster / Bethany Cosentino.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Halfway through 2023's Natural Disaster, Bethany Cosentino's candid yet rollicking debut solo album, she sings "I hope you hear this as me being fearless." The sentiment comes from "For a Moment," a swooning, romantic anthem that has the sparkling, Wall of Sound majesty of a Bruce Springsteen song and which underlines the overall feeling that the longtime Best Coast singer isn't just changing her style but putting her deepest emotions and sense of self on the line. The idea for Natural Disaster came about in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic forced Best Coast (the duo Cosentino started in her early twenties with guitarist Bobb Bruno) to cancel their tour in support of their fourth album, Always Tomorrow. The ensuing solitude proved transformative for Cosentino, who felt she'd begun to outgrow the slackery garage rock that she'd become something of a poster child for with Best Coast. Having already wrestled with substance abuse, she began writing songs that better reflected her clear state of mind, her desire for deeper emotional connections, and her concerns over the environment. It's a vibe she carries through all of Natural Disaster and one that goes hand in hand with the change in her sound. Working with veteran alt rock producer Butch Walker, Cosentino embraces a folk- and country-influenced pop/rock approach, framing her warm, crystal clear vocals in piano, twangy electric guitar, and pedal steel accents. It's a style that evokes the breezy, early-'90s rock of artists like Sheryl Crow and Bonnie Raitt yet retains all of the ringing melodicism of Best Coast. She also trades some of her cool girl swagger for a refreshing vulnerability and open heartedness. The change can be thrilling, as on the driving "Outta Time," where she expresses how it sometimes feels like you're the only who is worried about the state of the world, even though we all have to deal with climate change and economic issues on a daily basis, proclaiming "I know I'm not the only one/Can someone out there back me up?!" Part of the poignant charm of Natural Disaster is how Cosentino is able to take her anxieties over these big headline issues and make them relatable, wrapping them up in her feelings about growing older, accepting herself, and finding love. On "For a Moment" she sings, "The hills behind our house could literally just burst right into flames/I wake up every day and ruminate/I look at you and start to pray for rain/A voice inside my head says, 'Why you wanna waste your time like that?'" Cosentino's answer to that question is one she returns to time and again on Natural Disaster, continually reaffirming that love and human connections, and her own creative expression, aren't just worth fighting for, they're the whole point. ~ Matt Collar