EAC extraction logfile from 5. October 2013, 15:47
Best Coast / Fade Away
Used drive : hp CDDVDW SN-208DB Adapter: 0 ID: 1
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track
Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 1024 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -8 -V -T "ARTIST=%artist%" -T "TITLE=%title%" -T "ALBUM=%albumtitle%" -T "DATE=%year%" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%tracknr1%" -T "GENRE=%genre%" -T "PERFORMER=%albuminterpret%" -T "COMPOSER=%composer%" %haslyrics%--tag-from-file=LYRICS="%lyricsfile%"%haslyrics% -T "ALBUMARTIST=%albumartist%" -T "DISCNUMBER=%cdnumber%" -T "TOTALDISCS=%totalcds%" -T "TOTALTRACKS=%numtracks%" -T "COMMENT=%comment%" %source% -o %dest%
Genre: Pop/Rock
Style: Indie Pop
Source: CD (log + cue)
Codec: FLAC
Bit Rate: ~ 900 kbps
Bit Depth: 16
Sampling Rate: 44,100 Hz
01 This Lonely Morning
02 I Wanna Know
03 Who Have I Become?
04 Fear of My Identity
05 Fade Away
06 Baby I'm Crying
07 I Don't Know How
After the release of 2012's The Only Place, Best Coast parted ways with their label, Mexican Summer, and Bethany Cosentino started her own label, Jewel City, to release the Fade Away EP. That is basically the only thing that's changed in the Best Coast camp. The sound is slick and punchy, the songs are straightforward and hooky, and Cosentino's lyrics are slightly awkward but kind of endearingly so. The first two tracks sound the way Blondie would sound in 2013 if they were stoned all the time and saw the sun occasionally, especially the super-catchy "This Lonely Morning," and the rest of the album splits the difference between the Ramones' poppier moments and a slightly less creepily deranged Hole circa Celebrity Skin (especially on the powerful title track). Business as usual, in other words, but business slightly better than on The Only Place. The absence of Jon Brion behind the desk means there are fewer little musical tricks to distract from the songs and a tighter, leaner sound overall. The EP format also serves the band well, since it ends right about the same time the average person's tolerance for Cosentino's endlessly introspective lyrics abruptly gives out. Sequencing the similarly navel-gazing "Who Have I Become" and "Fear of My Identity" next to each other doesn't help that particular problem much. Neither does the Mazzy Star-influenced "Baby I'm Crying," which misses the melancholy target they were so very obviously aiming for and lands squarely on tedious instead. It's too bad the EP is saddled with a couple duds, because when it clicks and the music, words, and playing all get it right, one is reminded of the energy and fun that made the band worth checking out in the beginning.