Bethany Cosentino Announces Solo Debut Album, Puts Best Coast On Hold

Best Coast frontwoman Bethany Cosentino has announced the July 28 release, via Concord Records, of her debut solo album Natural Disaster. The new record, produced by Butch Walker, was written in Nashville and Los Angeles and is described as a departure from the understated indie-pop that Best Coast are known for.

Natural Disaster, “intensely intimate yet rooted in universal truth,” is introduced by the first single “It’s Fine,” which is out now alongside a music video directed by frequent collaborator Janell Shirtcliff.

As she announces her solo debut, Cosentino has also confirmed that Best Coast will go on indefinite hiatus. “My identity as a human being, and as an artist, has been so wrapped up in Best Coast for over a decade,” she says. “The decision to pause the project indefinitely, and explore a new side of myself, was a very difficult one to make – but it felt necessary for me. Life is too short to not give yourself what you feel you need and want. I am excited about being just Bethany Cosentino for a while and figuring out who I am outside of the ‘Bethany from Best Coast’ box I’ve lived in for such a long time.”

She muses of her early days in the public eye, in her early 20s: “I looked at myself long and hard in the mirror, and I realized that I too had been bringing myself back to that place. I kept proclaiming to the world ‘I’ve changed, I’ve evolved!’ but I hadn’t gotten to the place I really wanted to be yet. It became really clear to me that I needed to push myself into a completely different direction. Because the road I was on was just ultimately taking me back to square one.”

The new set was mainly recorded during a series of trips to Walker’s Nashville studio, and puts her voice front and center, both literally and metaphorically, for the first time. “When I look at all the artists I find most influential, the common thread is that they take risks and continue exploring different versions of themselves,” she says. “My goal is to keep growing and challenging myself and living outside any kind of box, to keep on evolving as an artist and a person.

“And if anyone’s feeling stagnant, I hope this record inspires them to see what else life has to offer. It’s really scary to take those risks and make big changes in your life, but what you find on the other side can be so magical.”

Pre-order Natural Disaster, which is released on July 28.

The full tracklisting is:
Natural Disaster
Outta Time
It’s Fine
Easy
A Single Day
My Own City
For A Moment
Calling On Angels
Real Life
Hope You’re Happy Now
It’s A Journey
I’ve Got News For You