''La Costa Perdida'' is the 8th studio release by the American alternative-music band

Camper Van Beethoven Camper Van Beethoven is an American rock band formed in Redlands, California, in 1983, later based in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Their style mixes elements of pop, ska, punk, folk, alternative, country, and world music, among other ge ...

. It was released on January 22, 2013, and contains 10 tracks. The lead-off single from the album, "Northern California Girls", was released on January 1, 2013. This album focuses on

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

in its lyrics and artwork and is paired with the following year's release '' El Camino Real'', another

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

about

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

Production

According to the band, the album was influenced by their

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

roots, as well as the album ''

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

'' by

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

. The album features the four core CVB members: David Lowery on rhythm guitar and lead vocals,

Jonathan Segel Jonathan Segel (born September 3, 1963) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He has played with Camper Van Beethoven, Sparklehorse, Eugene Chadbourne, and Dieselhed. Early life and education Segel was born in Marseille, France, a ...

on violin, guitar, mandolin, keyboards and backing vocals,

Victor Krummenacher Victor Krummenacher (born April 7, 1965) is an American bass guitarist and guitarist. He is a founding member of alternative rock band Camper Van Beethoven. Career In addition to co-founding Camper Van Beethoven, Krummenacher is also a co-fou ...

on bass and baritone guitar, and

Greg Lisher Gregory Allen Lisher (born November 29, 1963) is the lead guitar player for Camper Van Beethoven. He is also one of the founding members of the Camper Van Beethoven spin-off Indy prog rock group Monks of Doom. He has also released four solo rec ...

on lead guitar. Most of the drumming on the album is handled by studio drummer

Michael Urbano Michael Urbano (born March 19, 1960) is an American musician, programmer, and record producer. Career One of Urbano's first gigs was as a member of Bourgeois Tagg, a 1980s band that was fronted by Brent Bourgeois and Larry Tagg and included L ...

, a former member of Lowery's other band

Cracker Cracker, crackers or The Crackers may refer to: Animals * ''Hamadryas'' (butterfly), or crackers, a genus of brush-footed butterflies * '' Sparodon'', a monotypic genus whose species is sometimes known as "Cracker" Arts and entertainment Films ...

, although former CVB drummer Chris Pedersen also plays drums on "Too High For the Love-In" and the title track. The band's then-regular live drummer

Frank Funaro Frank Funaro (born June 23, 1958) is an American drummer who has played with Del Lords, The Brandos, Camper Van Beethoven, Joey Ramone, The Dictators, Cracker, Nils Lofgren & Dion DiMucci. Funaro collaborated with Joey Ramone on his first so ...

, also a member of Cracker, does not appear on the album, although he is pictured in a band photograph. "La Costa Perdida" is Spanish for "The

Lost Coast The Lost Coast is a mostly natural and undeveloped area of the California North Coast in Humboldt and Mendocino counties, which includes the King Range. It was named the "Lost Coast" after the area experienced depopulation in the 1930s. In a ...

," which Lowery uses as a

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word "wikt:suit, suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such ...

for the bulk of California's North Coast, between Stinson Beach and

Arcata Arcata (; ; ) is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay (northern) portion of Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, Arcata's population was 18,857. Arcata was first founded in 1850 as Union, was officially ...

Track listing

#"Come Down the Coast" #"Too High for the Love-In" #"You've Got to Roll" #"Someday Our Love Will Sell Us Out" #" Peaches in the Summertime" #"Northern California Girls" #"Summer Days" #"La Costa Perdida" #"Aged in Wood" #"A Love for All Time"

References

{{Authority control 2013 albums Camper Van Beethoven albums 429 Records albums 2010s concept albums Works about California