INTRODUCING - Coasting

*originally posted on thegirlsare

New York bands are cool. C’mon, there’s no denying this. From the nonchalant swagger of The Strokes to their punk predecessors, The Ramones, the Big Apple is responsible for a plethora of hipsters who all know their way around a great melody. Coasting are no exception to this, despite their small geographical placement a few miles or so west in the NY borough of Brooklyn. But as the Sex and The City starlet, Carrie Bradshaw proudly states ‘Brooklyn is the New Manhattan’, yah?

Geography aside, Coasting are comprised of Fiona Campbell (drums) and Madison Farmer (guitar). The band’s sound is an eclectic and invigorating mix of everything from surf rock to riot grrrl greatness to a lo-fi ambiance not too dissimilar to NME darlings, Warpaint. An obvious comparison in style for Campbell’s primal drums is Sleater Kinney‘s Janet Weiss and this is not a likeness doled out on a mere whim. Hell no, Campbell can drum. The intense and frenzied tom rolls of ‘Same Old Same Old‘ are reminiscent of Weiss’ spine tingling tom work on Sleater Kinney single, ’Entertain’. Campbell’s ‘other’ band, Vivian Girls, would make for another lazy reference but there’s a spray of surf in Coasting’s sound and even a sense of twee pop in their bitter-sweet girl group vocals.

The all girl duo met while working for DIY godfather Todd P building stages, taking door money and tending makeshift bars late into the evening. There’s certainly an undercurrent of his DIY approach to their recordings and song writing structures too. The group’s method of composition is centred on hanging out, jamming and intuitively running with what sounds right. With tracks titles, like ’Snoozefest’ and ’Hots for Teachers’, this pair ultimately excel in youthful exuberance and FUN. Their Cramps-esque guitars stylings are soaked in New York grunge cool but also, from over the waters, angsty grunge strums that are not a far cry from Male Bonding‘s similarly raw riffs.

Both the Dalston trio and Coasting share a sound that makes for a welcome retreat to yonder days of abrasive drones and slacker pop hits and that’s certainly a sound worth riding the wave of…