Coasts - Coasts

Generally associated with acts like Circa Waves and Wolf Alice, two fantastic indie/alternative acts taking the mainstream by storm lately, I had high hopes for Bristol quintet Coasts’ self titled debut album, out September 25th. In truth the only impressive thing about this band is their sheer naivety in thinking they could record the same song 16 times and pass it off as an album. Manufactured drivel from start to finish, this collection of mundane, X Factor-runner up standard pop trash tries so hard to follow the cult following paths forged by the likes of Chvrches and London Grammar’s early efforts that it ends up screaming overkill, about as cool and desirable as knock-off pre-torn Topshop skinny jeans. Modern Love shows no lyrical consideration whatsoever, “Sunlight, no sound / Seek shade until we touch the ground”, and Tonight is a desperate whine for attention from a band who desperately need to decide whether they want to be DIY enthused rock stars or Radio 1 B-list Mummy’s boys. One redeeming feature is the album’s 80s inspired electro/tropical guitars – see Your Soul and Wallow – but for the most part Coasts is a weak-kneed mess of bland garbage, a disappointing start from a band with decreasingly obvious potential.