Biography
Bethany Cosentino fronted the California duo Best Coast as lead singer and songwriter, earning recognition for the pair’s distinctive lo-fi indie rock sound marked by sun-bleached textures. The group combined critical approval with commercial traction when each of its first three albums reached the Alternative Albums chart’s Top 20 and also registered inside the Billboard 200’s Top 60. After Best Coast disbanded, Cosentino examined her artistic and personal evolution on the lyrically introspective, folk-rock-infused solo debut Natural Disaster, issued in 2023.
Born in 1986, Cosentino was raised in Los Angeles and began her career as a child actress. In her teenage years she turned to songwriting, posting material online under the name Bethany Sharayah and cultivating an early following on MySpace. She later formed the experimental duo Pocahaunted with Amanda Brown, creating wordless, droning psychedelic pop and issuing several cassette-only albums produced by instrumentalist Bobb Bruno. Although Pocahaunted drew notice, Cosentino exited the project to pursue journalism and creative writing at New York’s Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts. She withdrew during her second semester amid depression and returned to California, where she reconnected with Bruno and launched Best Coast.
Blending lo-fi elements of ’50s and ’60s pop, punk, and indie rock, the duo generated early interest with a series of EPs, signed to Mexican Summer, and delivered the 2010 debut Crazy for You. That album peaked at number seven on the Alternative Albums chart and reached the Billboard 200’s Top 40. Touring ensued, including dates alongside Wavves. Over the next two releases—The Only Place in 2012 and California Nights in 2015—the band’s sound gained additional stadium polish, with both albums charting on the Billboard 200 and landing inside the Alternative Albums chart’s Top Ten. In 2017 Best Coast supported Paramore on tour, further elevating their visibility. Around that period Cosentino achieved sobriety, a chapter she addressed directly on the group’s fourth album, 2020’s Always Tomorrow.
The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown of 2020 ended Best Coast’s touring schedule. Working alone, Cosentino began composing songs she deemed unsuitable for the band. She and Bruno eventually parted ways, bringing Best Coast to a close. Shortly afterward she entered the studio with producer Butch Walker and released her debut solo album, Natural Disaster, in 2023. Led by the buoyant single “It’s Fine,” the record found Cosentino exploring a ’90s-style folk-rock and Americana palette while contemplating themes that included climate change and her own personal growth.
Born in 1986, Cosentino was raised in Los Angeles and began her career as a child actress. In her teenage years she turned to songwriting, posting material online under the name Bethany Sharayah and cultivating an early following on MySpace. She later formed the experimental duo Pocahaunted with Amanda Brown, creating wordless, droning psychedelic pop and issuing several cassette-only albums produced by instrumentalist Bobb Bruno. Although Pocahaunted drew notice, Cosentino exited the project to pursue journalism and creative writing at New York’s Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts. She withdrew during her second semester amid depression and returned to California, where she reconnected with Bruno and launched Best Coast.
Blending lo-fi elements of ’50s and ’60s pop, punk, and indie rock, the duo generated early interest with a series of EPs, signed to Mexican Summer, and delivered the 2010 debut Crazy for You. That album peaked at number seven on the Alternative Albums chart and reached the Billboard 200’s Top 40. Touring ensued, including dates alongside Wavves. Over the next two releases—The Only Place in 2012 and California Nights in 2015—the band’s sound gained additional stadium polish, with both albums charting on the Billboard 200 and landing inside the Alternative Albums chart’s Top Ten. In 2017 Best Coast supported Paramore on tour, further elevating their visibility. Around that period Cosentino achieved sobriety, a chapter she addressed directly on the group’s fourth album, 2020’s Always Tomorrow.
The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown of 2020 ended Best Coast’s touring schedule. Working alone, Cosentino began composing songs she deemed unsuitable for the band. She and Bruno eventually parted ways, bringing Best Coast to a close. Shortly afterward she entered the studio with producer Butch Walker and released her debut solo album, Natural Disaster, in 2023. Led by the buoyant single “It’s Fine,” the record found Cosentino exploring a ’90s-style folk-rock and Americana palette while contemplating themes that included climate change and her own personal growth.
Albums
Singles
