''Natural Disaster'' is the solo debut album by

Bethany Cosentino Bethany Sharayah Cosentino (born November 3, 1986, in Los Angeles) is an American singer and songwriter. She is best known as one half of the indie rock duo Best Coast alongside Bobb Bruno. Cosentino also cofounded the hypnagogic pop band Pocah ...

, best known as one half of the Los Angeles rock duo

Best Coast Best Coast is an American rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 2009, currently on hiatus. The band consisted of songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Bethany Cosentino and guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno. Cosentino, a for ...

. It was released on July 28, 2023, by

Concord Records Concord Records is an American record label owned by Concord and based in Los Angeles, California. Concord Records was launched in 1995 as an imprint designed to reach beyond the company's foundational Concord Jazz label. The label's artists ha ...

. The album announcement came the same day that Cosentino confirmed she was putting Best Coast on indefinite hiatus as she focused on her solo career. The album was mainly produced by

Butch Walker Bradley Glenn "Butch" Walker (born November 14, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was lead guitarist for the glam metal band, SouthGang from the late 1980s to early 1990s. From 1997 to 2001, he became th ...

, except for the closing track which was produced by Davis Naish.

Background and release

Cosentino had been a member of the duo

for over a decade when she decided to put the group on hiatus, announced the same day as the album. Cosentino said the hiatus was inspired by her need to find her own identity outside of the group. ''Natural Disaster'' was announced on May 3, 2023, with its release date set for July 28 by

. With the announcement came the album's lead single, "It's Fine", and a music video directed by

Janell Shirtcliff Janell Shirtcliff (born 1982 or 1983) is an American filmmaker, photographer, and music video director. She also worked as a model for a decade, and as an actor for which she has been praised. She made her film directorial debut with 2021's ''Hab ...

. The second single, "Easy", was released on June 16. The third single, "For a Moment", was released on July 6, featuring vocals from her cowriters

Madi Diaz Madi Diaz (born May 14, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Early life Diaz grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where she was home-schooled by her Peruvian mother, Nancy, a proponent of early childhood development and t ...

, Kate York, and

Sarah Buxton Sarah Jane Buxton (born July 3, 1980) is an American country music singer formerly signed to the independent Lyric Street Records. Between 2006 and 2008, she issued three singles from an extended play titled '' Almost My Record'', in addition t ...

. The fourth single, the title track, was released on July 25, with a music video directed by Aaron Preusch which depicts Cosentino dancing in front of projected footage of landscapes and fires.

Writing and recording

Cosentino wrote the album in Nashville and Los Angeles. The album was produced by

, and recorded in his Nashville studio. "It's Fine" was the first single written for the album, inspired by Cosentino having "seen something on the internet that really pissed me off" and deciding to write a song on her guitar rather than respond angrily on Twitter. Cosentino was originally planning on working with

Carlos de la Garza Captain Carlos de la Garza (1807–1882), also known as "Don Carlos," was a fourth generation Tejano rancher and entrepreneur in Goliad, Victoria and Refugio counties of Texas. His participation in the Mexican Army leading to the Battle of Col ...

, who had produced Best Coast's last album '' Always Tomorrow'', but determined that Walker's background in

alt country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

and

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

would fit better. Cosentino sent Walker a demo of "It's Fine" which Walker produced into the version that made the final album. Cosentino made a

mood board A mood board is a type of visual presentation or 'collage' consisting of images, text, and samples of objects in a composition. It can be based on a set topic or can be any material chosen at random. A mood board can be used to convey a general id ...

for the album which included numerous elements from the film ''

Thelma & Louise ''Thelma & Louise'' is a 1991 American crime drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Callie Khouri. The film stars Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as Louise and Thelma, two friends who embark on a road trip that ends up in unforese ...

''. She was also influenced by the film ''

Defending Your Life ''Defending Your Life'' is a 1991 American romantic comedy-fantasy film about a man who finds himself on trial in the afterlife, where proceedings examine his lifelong fears, to determine whether he'll be (yet again) reincarnated on Earth, or ...

''.

Style

The album combines

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

, and Americana, with additional influences of

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

. Influences on its sound include

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is noted for her Optimism, optimistic and Idealism, idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including Rock music, rock, Po ...

, and Jewel. The album's lyricism is more direct than her usual work with Best Coast. One of the album's major lyrical themes is

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, involving frequent references to fire and drought juxtaposed with "

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

sha-la-las" and "descriptions that evoke a vaguely pre-apocalyptic landscape" on the opening track.

Reception

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

''s Kate Shepherd wrote that with the album, Cosentino had "crafted an artifact that will feel at once familiar to those who followed her work with Best Coast and also distinctly her own, merging vulnerability with a dry sense of humour, and deploying to full effect her well-honed skill for blending sincere nostalgia with her own brand of millennial irony." ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

''s Joshua Mills wrote that while the "downtempo tunes" such as "It's a Journey" "are a little hit-and-miss", the album "brims with the artist's personality and is a delight to connect with." Mills highlighted Cosentino's ability to know "exactly what kind of sparkling, big-hearted album she wanted to make", and the combination of her "acidity" with Walker's "polish" which "delivers way more often than not."

Year-end lists

Track listing

Personnel

– lead vocals, backing vocals *

– producer (1–11), recording engineer (1–11), bass guitar (1–11), guitar (1–11), keyboards (1–11), percussion (1–11), piano (1–11), drums (1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10) * Davis Naish – producer (12), recording engineer (12), piano (12) *

Lars Stalfors Lars Stalfors is an American record producer, mixer, and audio engineer based in Los Angeles, California. Stalfors began his career as a touring member and engineer for the progressive rock band the Mars Volta The Mars Volta is an Americ ...

– mixing engineer *

Pete Lyman Pete Lyman is a mastering engineer, and owner of Infrasonic Mastering, an audio and vinyl mastering studio with three locations in United States. He has mastered Grammy-award winning and nominated albums for Chris Stapleton, Tanya Tucker, Jason I ...

– mastering engineer * Mark Stepro – drums (2, 4, 8, 10, 11) * Billy Justineau –

Hammond B3 Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia *Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in Sout ...

(2, 8) *

Val McCallum Valentine McCallum (born 10 October 1963) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. Career McCallum has toured with, and served as a studio musician for many well-known musicians. He toured with Jackson Browne, and McCallum's musical resume ...

– guitar (4) * Mickey Rafael – harmonica (4, 5) * Ellen Angelico –

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Sche ...

(5, 7), mandolin (5, 7),

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

(5, 7) *

Jeff Trott Jeffrey Robert Trott is an American songwriter and record producer from San Francisco, California. He is perhaps most well-known for his collaborations with American singer Sheryl Crow, having co-written some of her biggest hits, including "If ...

– guitar (5) *

Nick Bockrath Cage the Elephant is an American rock band formed in 2006 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They moved to England and settled in London in 2008, shortly before their self-titled first album was released. The band currently consists of Matt Shultz (v ...

– guitar (5, 7) *

Eric Slick Eric James Marshall Slick (born May 15, 1987) is an American singer, songwriter and drummer. He is the drummer of Dr. Dog, performing on their albums '' Shame, Shame'' (2010), '' Be The Void'' (2012), '' B-Room'' (2013), '' The Psychedelic Swamp ...

– drums (5, 7) *

, Kate York, and

– backing vocals (7)

References

{{Best Coast 2023 debut albums Bethany Cosentino albums Concord Records albums Albums produced by Butch Walker Pop rock albums by American artists Folk rock albums by American artists Americana albums