If I didn’t like contributor Jason Woodbury so much then I might have killed him for not telling me he was going to mention Wavves. Just this once.

OK, so while the whole mess of “Psychedelic Horseshit on Wavves plus Black Lips on Wavves plus Wavves on Wavves” is starting to feel pretty overcooked, it’s undeniable that in the wake of the Pitchfork-stoked hype fire of Wavves and Vivian Girls, people have rightly been asking if substandard tunes covered in tape hiss and fuzz deserve to lauded as “Best New Music.” Bands given the “lo-fi” tag run the gamut from the remarkable (Ganglians, Woods and Crystal Slits) to underwhelming (No Age, the aforementioned offenders), linked less by their songwriting than by their aural presentation.

L.A.’s Best Coast certainly run the risk of being lumped into the whole thing. The signifiers certainly do little to distance the project from the glut of like-minded acts: the blown-out drums, scuzzy guitars, and, of course, plenty of hiss, as well as gigs at L.A.’s ubiquitous The Smell. But Best Coast, current project of ex-Pocahaunted (“the Olsen Twins of Drone”) member Bethany Cosentino, breaks from the herd with a liberal dose of pure pop at her side. Best Coast hasn’t actually released anything, but the songs on the MySpace go a long way in cultivating anticipation for her upcoming 7-inch on Art Fag Recordings. All six tracks hosted are the kind of breezy, gentle power-pop that is tailor made for beach listening, at once wistful, engaging and elemental. And her fan base (cult?) is a quick-moving one. Standout track The Sun Was High (So Was I) is weeks old but has not one, but two excellent fan-made videos making the inter-tube rounds. Scuzzy and “lo-fi” for sure, but most importantly, awesome jams.

• Best Coast | The Sun Was High (So Was I)

Previous posts by Jason:
Kissing Cousins: Pillar of Salt
Review: The Hold Steady, A Positive Rage
Anni Rossi, Modified, 2/9/09
Stephen Steinbrink: Ugly Unknowns
Obi Best/Towncraft, Modified, 1/22/09

Contributor Jason Woodbury – he of Hands on Fire and Cardiac Party – returns to discuss a Richard Swift-produced project.

A couple months ago, I had the extreme good fortune of catching the fantastic Richard “Dickie” Swift in Tucson, opening for Jason Lytle at a pre-SxSW gig. Swift and the boys put on a stellar show (though they outdid themselves a couple weeks later at Modified. After the show, we chatted and he informed me that he had just finished up producing and recording a record by a band called Kissing Cousins. He described the record as the Shangri-Las-meets-Black Sabbath. I was instantly curious.

Thanks to the good folks at Velvet Blue Music, my curiosity has been sated, and well rewarded. Recorded straight to tape using a Tascam 8-track purchased from Jeff Tweedy of Wico, Pillar of Salt makes good on Swift’s description, with fuzzy riffs smoldering under girl group vocals and reverb heavy tambourines, while lithe flutes drift overhead, recalling the dark psychedelic approach of Black Mountain.

The sinister vibe suits the girls well, as singer/songwriter Heather B. Heywood wraps her tales of snake handlers and being “slain in the spirit” – nods to her charismatic Pentecostal upbringing – in plenty of sultry swagger, somehow making Judgement Day sound impossibly sexy. First in the Fire marches with ominous, thundering percussion, while Red Lamb employs shoegaze guitars and a soulful, Berry Gordy approved melody. The record ends with a devastating double shot, Don’t Look Back, featuring a finger-wagging, spoken bit that simultaneously sounds like a benediction and slow dance request, and the instrumental Snake Handler (Part II) closes the record with a graceful note of redemption.

With any lucky, the girls will tour a bit more in support of Pillar of Salt. The drive from Silver Lake to Phoenix isn’t that bad, and this stuff begs to be heard live.

You can pick up Pillar of Salt directly from Velvet Blue Music.

• Kissing Cousins | Come Back to Me
• Kissing Cousins | Don’t Look Back

Previous posts by Jason:
Review: The Hold Steady, A Positive Rage
Anni Rossi, Modified, 2/9/09
Stephen Steinbrink: Ugly Unknowns
Obi Best/Towncraft, Modified, 1/22/09