Polaroids with Best Coast at SXSW
The CA surf-pop duo were at the internationally-renowned Austin, Texas showcase, and we caught up for some Impossible Polaroids around their Palm Door on Sixth appearance and thoughts on their forthcoming album California Nights.
"When we decided to name the record California Nights, it just felt right because there is not only a song on the album - one of the biggest, most different songs we’ve written - with the same name, but because I do so much of my thinking and creative work at night."
"There is a darkness in this city that you don't see unless you know where to look. I think that to an outsider, California, or more specifically Los Angeles, seems like it's this amazing place with perfect weather and sunny skies with just the right amount of clouds and tall palm trees. And let's face it, it kind of is - but there are also a lot of other things here — crime, homelessness, and some of the most spirit-crushing elements of the entertainment industry that outsiders never see. That’s a theme we very consciously decided to explore and play with when making this record."
"By the end of it, I got to a place where I was able to come to terms with just how much I can control, and how much I can’t — with the dichotomy of fun vs. dark; happy vs. sad; crazy vs. sane; anxiety vs. calm; perfect vs. screwed up. I realized that I am, more often than not, the creator of my own anxiety and my own stress, and throughout this album, I talk to myself about that and challenge myself to cut the bullshit and just be okay with being okay. "
"It's about a journey, it's about self acceptance, it's about learning to let go, it's about accepting the things you have no control over, it's about dealing with life like an adult and at the end of the day reminding yourself that there really is no reason to be sad, and you have every right to feel okay."
Best Coast's third LP, California Nights, is set for release on 4 May via Virgin EMI/Harvest Records, and you can see the recently-released video for the second track lifted from it, 'Heaven Sent', here. The duo are set for a UK and European tour in May, with dates in Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Manchester, Bristol and Nottingham.
Colour & B+W Impossible Project 600 type film by Impossible and shot on Polaroid Sun 660 AF by Glen Brown and Sara Marjorie Strick.
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