The Coasts

This album means a lot to me. I was introduced to lead singer Ike Peters via Turntable.fm. I fell immediately in love with his self-titled release when it hit the interwebs in August. Peters and bandmate Eric Mount were kind enough to grant this blog its first band interview, despite the fact that we still had no clue what we were doing. Okay, maybe we still don’t, but that post legitimized this project for me. At the time, I didn’t realize that we were the first publication of any kind to interview The Coasts. A few months later, their song “RIOT!” had reached enough ears to be played during the credits of 90210. I feel like their band and our blog have grown up together, like neighborhood kids that played on the same soccer team. More important than any of this is the fact that this album kicks ass. I love these guys and I can’t wait to see where they go from here. - Thoughts On Tracks

Ike and Eric (aka hairy and baldy) of The Coasts are a cuddlier version of The Black Keys. I’ve told many about them and the response is always positive. My wife even likes this album…that is saying something. Trust me. - SYFFAL

It would be easy to say that this album made my Top 10 because there’s a tiger on the cover. But it’s simply not true. Yes, I do love tigers, but something I love more is lo-fi pop-rock that occasionally deviates into the retro sounds of doo-wop and blues. With The Coasts, you know you’re hearing something that’s all brand new, but at the same time, there’s a familiarity to it that is what makes it so easy to love. Just like soulmates, you can feel that you and this album have been connected for much longer than you could ever even know. - Hearingade

A two-piece from Little Rock do good with their diverse self-released debut. Only available via Bandcamp this year, expect to hear a lot more from The Coasts in the coming year. You can download the full album for only $5 (above or below) and a portion of the record sales will go towards the Hope For Haiti’s Children Foundation. - The South Rail

This band came in at last moment and snatched a top spot in this list. I heard a song via Rollo Grady Blog and was instantly keen to hear more. The retro sounding drums and garage guitars are always guaranteed to get my attention but if the songs dont hold up then I can take or leave it. Thankfully their songs hold up great. Reminding me of 60's greats like The Troggs and The Turtles is as great a compliment as I could give. A track like ‘Riot’ manages to meld those influences in a modern sounding way which landed them a placement on 90210 (dont hold that against them though cos the track is great!) All the songs on this album have a hook that will keep me returning to this album well after 2011 and probbaly 2012 for that matter. And for only $5 download you should too. - Atlas Jams

The Coasts are Eric Mount and Ike Peters. The two met as freshman in college, became best friends, played music together just once, and laid down a rock n’ roll album shortly thereafter. Enter Lovely Hearts Club. The advent of turntable.fm has allowed us to not only meet a ton of really great folks out there on the interweb but also hear some really special demos. Ike, a copywriter in Little Rock and one half of The Coasts, played a track for us in the Paper Garden Records room and we were hooked. How do we promote ourselves? Do we suck? These were just a few questions The Coasts had for us. No, you don’t suck. You rule. Let us promote you! So here we are.

The Coasts are just effortlessly fun, as if The Black Keys and Elvis Costello conceived an uncombed lovechild. The first track off their self-titled release, which you can listen to here, “Poltergeist” is a infectious, rolling pop song about moving into a haunted house. The thing is, you’re never quite sure if they’re celebrating or lamenting the fact that they live with ghosts because it’s just that upbeat. The track that really caught our attention was “Handshakers”, a quirky anthem that’s equal parts gritty rockabilly and punching pop. A portion of the record sales for The Coasts will go towards the Hope For Haiti’s Children Foundation. - Paper Garden Records

I haven’t wailed like a rockabilly chick in the middle of the twist in a while but this song hits the spot! Paper Garden Records released this track as part of their Lonely Hearts Club series, giving me access to the Little Rock based band. Discovered in Paper Garden’s Turntable FM room, The Coasts are a shinning example of what gems have yet to be uncovered in the music-playing service— take a listen to their self-titled debut album below and BUY BUY BUY it ($5!) today. - Edgy @ Best

The Coasts are Eric Mount and Ike Peters. The two met as freshman in college, became best friends, played music together just once, and laid down a rock n’ roll album shortly thereafter.

The Coasts are just effortlessly fun, as if The Black Keys and Elvis Costello conceived an uncombed lovechild. The first track off their self-titled release, Poltergeist is a infectious, rolling pop song about moving into a haunted house. The thing is, you’re never quite sure if they’re celebrating or lamenting the fact that they live with ghosts because it’s just that catchy.We have Handshakers, a quirky anthem that’s equal parts gritty rockabilly and punching pop. A portion of the record sales for The Coasts will go towards the Hope For Haiti’s Children Foundation. - The Mad Mackeral

First off, thanks to the wonderful music blog Listen Before You Buy for writing a post about The Coasts and thus allowing me to find out about them. The Coasts' music is of the type that changes from track to track, each of which is executed extremely well. The singer's voice has this unsteady quality to it that I can't help but become completely enamored with.

Their debut self-titled album is out right now and a portion of the money from purchasing the album goes to Hope For Haiti's Children. It's a great album and, even better, you can stream it in full below: - The Converse Rockstar

Toronto – The Coasts are Eric Mount and Ike Peters. They have an album with what appears to be a white tiger on it. Ike is apparently a copywriter from Little Rock. That’s about all the information I can find about them. What I do know is that this track – Handshakers is an infectious track that has a nice southern rolling beat, playful horns and a great feel good vibe. Makes me think of convertibles, milkshakes, sun dresses and walks in the park. You can also listen to their debut album on their bandcamp site. Check it out. - Panic Manual

The Coasts is a duo formed by Eric Mount and Ike Peters; they met in college, where they became fast friends, and began making music together. And we are glad they still do.

Their sound is fun, fresh and effortlessly catchy. They make 60s-inspired music – like so many bands nowadays do – but they do so with a twist: in addition to the unmistakable doo-wop vocals and soft harmonies, they also provide another side to their music which has a raw, Black Keys quality about it. The track “Hard-Working Man”, is a great example of how they add that necessary edge to the sweetness. The show a genuine and humble side to their music with “John Lennon”: “It’s not likely I’ll get famous, but if I do I’ll have to face it. I’m not John Lennon, I’m just a guy with songs.” It is instantly appealing, and frankly, just plain adorable.

I highly suggest you buy their self-titled debut album for two very compelling reasons: firstly, the music damn good – seriously, there isn’t one song on this album I haven’t enjoyed; I cannot say enough good things about this band. Secondly, a portion of the proceeds will go to the Hope for Haiti’s Children foundation. So really, win-win.

You can get “Handshakers” for free through Paper Garden Records’ Lovely Hearts Club.
- Love At First Listen

The Coasts are a new band from Little Rock, Arkansas consisting of members Eric Mount and Ike Peters. Their recent, self titled LP, which has been on high South Rail rotation this week, dropped digitally on BandCamp August 1st and is only available in digital format at this time. An unsigned band with a great sound, and a great debut album under their belt. Download the track ‘Handshakers’ and stream the FULL album below and hear what we’re talking about… and if you dig what you hear, you can download the full album for only $5! A portion of the record sales will go towards the Hope For Haiti’s Children Foundation - The South Rail

Over the last month, I have been thrilled by my discovery of The Coasts, a two man band comprised of college buddies Ike Peters and Eric Mount. The two financed the album themselves for $400 with the help of Little Rock producer Isaac Alexander. Their work resulted in a lo-fi, low budget joy ride that I have hardly been able to put down.

The album immediately resonated with me. Peters’ vocals sound alarmingly similar to Dr. Dog lead singer Scott McMicken. However, The Coasts are much less dressed up than Dr. Dog, exchanging four part harmonies for stripped down, roots rock appeal. The first time I heard their self-titled debut, it sounded as if McMicken were singing an album of lost Black Keys covers.


Like The Keys’ Rubber Factory or The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main St., the tight quarters and sweat drenched setting of their makeshift recording studio bleed into the music. This album is old school rock n’ roll at its finest: addictive melodies, fuzzy guitars and the occasional horn flourish.

Crack open a frosty beer, light a cigarette and give this album a spin. Quite simply, if you can’t get down with The Coasts, we probably should not hang out on the weekends. The duo has some work to do before they carve out a truly unique sound. As stated earlier, their influences are apparent at every turn. That being said, I will sacrifice originality for quality songwriting and good, old-fashioned rock n’ roll any day of the week.

To learn more about the making of The Coasts‘ debut album, read our interview with the band, HERE.
- Thoughts On Tracks

Members of The Coasts, Ike Peters and Eric Mount, recently sat down to answer some questions for Thought on Tracks. They are an unsigned band hailing from Little Rock, Arkansas and Lebanon, Ohio.

How many members of the band are there? How old are you? How did you meet?

IKE: Officially, we have 2 members – me (Ike Peters) and Eric Mount. We’re both 25 and we met freshmen year of college. I don’t remember the exact time we met, but I’m sure a shared love of Radiohead was involved. We roomed together with a couple of other guys and we’ve been best friends ever since.

Describe your recording process. Were you guys sending each other stuff from afar? Or did you manage to record live?

IKE: Basically, Eric came down one weekend in February and we recorded the groundwork for 12 songs. After that, me and Isaac (the producer) would add stuff here and there on the weekends or after work. I’d send the tracks-in-progress to Eric and he’d give us some feedback or ideas, and that’s just how it went.

ERIC: The songs kind of morphed from Ike’s original sound/composition and what I thought they sounded like through my Ohio-headphones, into what they eventually became.

Are you signed to any record label? How did you finance the recording?

IKE: We are not signed to any label currently. We financed it ourselves, but it only ended up costing $400 because we just lucked out on a ton of things. Other than a producer, Isaac is my boss at work. He and two other guys run an ad agency in Little Rock. ANYWAY, he had this space he rented from a guy in town where he would record his stuff and keep all of his gear. We just used that beat-up, AC-less room to record in. It was rock n roll. And Isaac did it all for free. We just had to pay the extra musicians and the mixer/masterer guy. So, we were very, very, very lucky.



Who are you major influences?

IKE: During that weekend when Eric was here, we listened to Exile on Main St. to and from the “studio.” So, as far as the record is concerned, that was probably our main inspiration. Musically, though, I’m a huge Kinks fan.

ERIC: Well, the influences for the album, I’d have to say, range somewhere between early rock ‘n roll to more modern indie rock, such as Dr. Dog, Weezer and Cake, which was kind of unplanned. But my influential staples would probably be Radiohead, Wilco and the Pixies, with more recent favorites like Midlake and Arcade Fire.

What current artists would you compare yourselves with?

IKE: I don’t know if we’d compare ourselves to anyone, but we definitely WISH we sounded like Dr. Dog or The Black Keys or someone with that throwback kind of sound. I won’t always want to be known as a “throwback” band and I doubt those bands do either, but that sound is throughout our album, so I’ll take it for now.

ERIC: I actually feel like we’ve got a pretty unique thing going on, especially with the limited time we’ve actually spent playing together. You could look at that a few different ways: either we are unrehearsed, unprofessional hacks, or we come across as a raw and original project. Hopefully the latter comes across. But, to answer your question — no one.

Could you describe any goals or objectives you hoped to accomplish with the recording?

IKE: It started out as just a fun project or just something cool we could do together. We didn’t really have any end-goal other than we’d just have something to show for our efforts. The fact that we have an album is still just a weird thought to me. But that’s what the goal was.

ERIC: Initially, my goal was just to have an album recorded that I could put my name on and be proud of. Something to show my kids one day. But now that we’ve sold some records and we’ve been encouraged by so many people, maybe this will turn into something more. Who knows.

IKE: I don’t even know if we were going to charge people for the record once it was done, but it just really hit us that weekend that we had something special. Before, they were just songs I had written and tried to record myself, so they didn’t have that magic that Eric added to it. It was such a cool feeling, so from then out, we knew we had something exciting.

Describe Isaac Alexander’s role in the recording process.

ERIC: Ike and I were relatively unfamiliar with the entire process and Isaac really sacrificed a lot of time to help us accomplish this record. Also, given the fact that he laid down the bass tracks, we were able to really let it rip in the studio and rock out with a “full” band. I think that really comes through on a few of the songs.

IKE: Isaac made the album what it is, pretty much. Without him, it would’ve been pretty gross. In fact, it probably wouldn’t even be. Since Isaac was much more experienced in music, having put out a few albums himself and with other bands in Little Rock, we knew he’d really give us some direction. And he did. He sacrificed a lot of time and energy on this, and he deserves most of the credit for it.

What was the inspiration behind the decision to donate part of the album’s proceeds to Haiti?

ERIC: Last winter, my wife, Nicole, and I went on a medical mission trip to Haiti with Hope for Haiti’s Children. We had already been sponsoring a child at the orphanage, Stanley, and we were able to see him and approximately 900 other kids. We, along with the rest of our group, were able to provide medical care to them. When we came back we told Ike and Alexis (Ike’s wife) about it and they are now sponsoring a child, too, named Stephanie. An important part of Ike and I and our families’ faith is giving back part of what you’ve been blessed with. And we felt this opportunity was no different.

What is the music scene like in Little Rock?

IKE: See, this is where my naivety comes out. I only have a general view of the Little Rock scene, so I’d be afraid to give it any kind of label. I would say that it’s pretty diverse. It’s no Austin or Nashville, of course, but it’s got some really great bands that have worked harder than we have, for sure. We haven’t even played a show yet. So, short answer: not sure yet.

What is the music scene like in Dayton?

ERIC: Where I live there’s no real “scene”. I think people just listen to what’s on the radio for the most part. My favorite band to come out of the area is probably The National, from Dayton and further east in Akron, the Black Keys. I think the Breeders are from Dayton, too.

Describe some of the drawbacks and benefits from this long distance relationship.

IKE: The drawbacks are that the process was much slower. We’d email back and forth about tracks, whereas it could’ve been quicker if he were here or we were all there. Plus, it was weird not having Eric there when me and Isaac would work on it. It wasn’t the same, and though we’re really happy with the outcome, I bet it would’ve been better if we all lived in the same place. Plus, we could be playing shows, too. It looks like I’m going to have to find a substitute for the time being. The benefit, though, was that we were extremely focused when Eric was here. Since Eric hadn’t touched a drumset in 3 years, I thought it was going to have to be more than a weekend. But he just banged it out and we got a shocking amount of work done. If we had lived in the same place, I bet we would’ve goofed off a lot more and wasted more of people’s time.

ERIC: Yeah, like Ike said, the benefit was that we didn’t have the opportunity to “overdo” the album. I like the relatively raw sound we got, and we didn’t overdub much of anything. If we had more time, we may have tinkered with it to where it didn’t sound quite that way. Drawbacks: Not getting to play new music or just hang out.

What has the response to the record been like?

IKE: The response has greatly surpassed any expectations we had. I honestly thought when we put it on sale that our friends and family would buy copies, and that’d be it. Which would’ve been fine. I think our money goal was that each of us would be able to buy a Hot N Ready pizza from Little Caesar’s. We just wanted to be realistic and not get our hopes up. But thanks to Paper Garden Records and several music blogs, the word got out and people have been really positive and supportive. Since we’ve released it, we’ve been getting emails from all over the place, so it’s just crazytown. It’s exciting, but yeah, not what we expected at all.

What are the plans for the future?

IKE: Right now, I’m writing some more songs and trying to put together a live show with some guys in town, at the same time continue being married and work hard at my job. I just made that sound stressful, but it really isn’t. It’s a lot of fun.

ERIC: I think we’ll record a second record for sure.

What advice would you give other up and coming artists?

IKE: No excuses. If you want to do it, then make the time and do it. We’re still in no position to give any kind of advice, but that’s what we try to tell ourselves.

Download The Coasts‘ debut LP for $5.00 at http://thecoasts.bandcamp.com/ - Thoughts On Tracks

Another Friday another addition to the Unsigned Friday posts. I don't think I have had a submission that was straight up rock n'roll, but The Coasts have changed that. They have a great sound, kind of mixing modern rock with the classic styles heard in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. Some good stuff. Learn a little about The Coasts below.

Who: The Coasts (Ike Peters & Eric Mount)

What: Rock N Roll

Where: Little Rock, AR/Lebanon, OH

When: Started in February, album released on August 1

Why: Because we have a cool tiger on the cover of our record AND we think our songs are fun.

Biggest Moment: Being a part of Paper Garden Records' Lovely Hearts Club

Something Funny: "Did you hear about the blind prostitute? Well, you had to hand it to her."
- Oh So Fresh! Music

Introducing The Coasts. They first came to my attention when they appeared in the Paper Garden Records Turntable room a few backs away, and blew away everyone with their tracks. This song, "Handshakers” is immediately gratifying from this Cincy duo. It’s ol’ school indie rock with large footprints of soul and folk sprinkled on top, to give it a truly fantastic sound. The track is certainly a throwback to the yesteryears with it’s heart melodies, saxophones, and a focus for making you have a good rockabilly time. - Hand Clap Movement

The Coasts’ Ike Peters will admit he isn’t quite sure he has this rock ‘n’ roll songwriting thing down yet. The Little Rock half of The Coasts (Eric Mount is the Lebanon, Ohio, half), Peters wrote the 10 tracks of The Coasts debut, a self-titled album that is a collection of irresistible, freewheeling indie rock.

Peters even admits doubts about his songwriting prowess on his inner-monologue-as-song “John Lennon,” singing over a toylike piano and a pounding yet simple drum rhythm: “I was born to/Sing rock ‘n’ roll songs/But I don’t know if/I’m doing it wrong/You’ll have to tell me/If I screw it up.”

“I was kind of self-conscious about putting stuff out there,” Peters said. “For all people who make something and put it out there, I feel as though they all share that anxiety. I have no idea if this is actually going to be good.”

The 36 minutes of music on The Coasts is better than good. Owing a little to the messy rock ‘n’ roll of Rolling Stones circa Exile on Main St. and the glam rock of T. Rex, and the catchy, throwback rock of Dr. Dog and the reckless post-punk rock of The Walkmen, The Coasts kicks off with the playful, minimalist stomp of “Poltergeist” with its handclaps and a lyrical nod to the Tobe Hooper-directed horror film with lyrics such as “We built a house on Indian burial grounds.” The album ends with the fun-loving, rambunctious “Tonight,” an under-two-minutes blast that crams trumpet, saxophone, piano and mandolin along with guitar, bass and drums in. The eight tunes in between are lo-fi yet exhilarating indie rock, featuring Peters on vocals, guitar and piano, and Mount on drums and backing vocals with bass supplied by the album’s producer (and Peters’ boss at Little Rock marketing and ad agency Eric Rob & Isaac) Isaac Alexander.

The rock ‘n’ roll formula was pretty simple at one time: form band, write songs, perform songs, record songs. Repeat parts two and four, and then go back to three. The order might be shuffled somewhat, but very rarely would one find the recording of songs skipping toward the front of the line.

The Coasts are a reverse of that formula. Peters and Mount met while students at Harding University (Peters is originally from Little Rock; Mount is from Ohio) and became friends, taking part in each other’s wedding. During their friendship, the two 25-year-olds formed a musical kinship as well so it was only natural that Peters contact Mount when the former decided to record a batch of tunes he’d written — even if Mount was back in Ohio following their graduation from Harding in 2008.

“I’d always written music and written songs, and I always knew he was a good drummer and trusted his instincts when it came to music so I just figured that I had a bunch of songs so why don’t you just drive down here and we record an album and see what happens with it,” Peters said. “I always wanted to try the whole music thing.”

Mount recorded his drum parts over a weekend earlier this year at Alexander’s own studio, and Peters and Alexander spent the rest of the spring and most of the summer finishing the album, adding trumpet from Guido Ritchie and saxophone from Matt Dickson on a few tunes.

“What was kind of funny about the whole thing was that Isaac had never produced before, and I’d never made an album before, and Eric definitely hasn’t either, so it was all of us in the room just kind of trying stuff and figuring it out,” Peters said. “Isaac had the attitude of if we had an idea let’s try it and see how it sounds. He was really open to messing around.”

Alexander provides bass lines that dance in and out of the grooves, like the infectious, toe-tapping bassline of “I Only Want You,” an ode to Peters’ wife that is built upon Alexander’s bass, clean guitar and Mount’s bass and snare drum beat, and includes an absolutely gorgeous trumpet outro by Ritchie. And Mount’s steady drumming doesn’t flash, but propels the tunes with a giddy-up beat, such as on the dance garage rock of “RIOT!!.”

Peters wrote the 10 tracks of The Coasts starting with the melodies first and then adding lyrics only after building the compositions around the melodies, noting the “creative process comes from the music and not the lyrics.” Peters likes the idea of brass being in indie rock, so Alexander nabbed Ritchie and Dickson, and even brought in Greg Spradlin for a torrid guitar solo in the bruising “Hard-Working Man.”

And while Peters openly doubts his songwriting on “John Lennon,” singing “I’m not John Lennon/I’m just a guy with some songs,” he shouldn’t. The Coasts is a collection of power pop melodies and riotously catchy indie rock rhythms (minus the banjo-powered “Lullabye”) with “oohs” and “ahs” and even a nod to T. Rex’s “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” with the boisterous bang of “Handshakers.”

The Coasts is an intro album from the back of beyond from a relatively unknown Little Rock musician. But for just over 36 minutes, Peters and Mount (with ample assistance from Alexander) deliver a debut that sounds perfect and fun. Now, The Coasts are working on finishing out their rock ‘n’ roll formula by playing live with Peters in the process of forming a band.

“I really want our live show — and with a lot of things it’s going to take time and experience — to be an experience,” Peters said. “I want people to walk away with the knowledge they had a good time rather than thinking this is just some band playing their songs.”

There’s no timetable set, but music this good deserves a larger audience.
- Sync Weekly

I don’t know why it has taken me so long to write this “Get to Know” post. The new album by The Coasts has been in heavy rotation over here. I was sent a link to one of The Coasts songs, and, as soon as I finished listening to that song, I bought the album. The album was immediately loaded onto my iPod, and has been played for every friend I could get to listen. So, it is long overdue that I tell you to get to know The Coasts.

The Coasts is an odd name for this two man band. Ike Peters lives in Little Rock, Arkansas & Eric Mount lives in Lebanon, OH (outside of Cincinnati). Neither of these places are near anywhere resembling the coast. But that is almost what makes the story of this band even better. Ike moved to Little Rock sometime ago to take a great job, and he started writing music in his free time. As the process continued, Ike (along with Isaac Alexander who is connected in the Little Rock music scene) convinced his best friend Eric Mount to visit Little Rock for a weekend to record some of the music he had been working on. One weekend of recording and $400 later, The Coasts were born.

In the DIY style of music these days, The Coasts could be the poster boys. It is what brings me back to what I really like in music. It is their passion that created this awesome fresh take of lo-fi, surf-splashed rock. It isn’t something that a suit in an office produced with the help of songwriters, backup players, and a canned formula that a spreadsheet says will bring in the most money. The self-titled debut album is only available digitally right now, and you can only buy it through their bandcamp site for $5. Seriously, just do without that second latte, and you can grab a great album by some unsigned DIY newcomers.

I’ve been emailing back and forth with Ike today while writing this post, and I asked when they were going to play Nashville. He told me that they live in different states and have great jobs, so they weren’t sure how they were going to go forward with The Coasts. I was shocked. I’ve seen glowing reviews from music blogs all over the internet about these guys, and they are not taking the chance to tour and “make it”… Of course, I am not living in their shoes, but, all I can say is, unless you work as some adventurer making billions a year…. you might be nuts not to see where this dream takes you.

Best of luck fellas, and let me know if and when you roll through Nashville. In the meantime, I’ve linked the bandcamp player to let you hear the next album that you are going to own. - No Country for New Nashville

At the behest of Rollo & Grady I’ve been spinning The Coasts debut album this morning. The unsigned duo is composed of Ike Peters (Little Rock, AK) and Eric Mount (Lebanon, OH). While living in two different locations must have presented some recording challenges, Ike and Eric have produced a solid debut of throwback rock ‘n’ roll. The set features a generous mix of horns, fuzzed-out vocals, and electric and acoustic melodies. Fans of Dr. Dog’s early days would do good to give these guys a listen. Download album standout “Handshakers” or stream The Coasts entire self-titled album (via bandcamp) below. - Sloane Ranger Music

I often struggle to find the words to describe the music of the last two decades (mostly in the U.S. that is). The 90's were defined by Nirvana and Pearl Jam, enter grunge. The 80's, regrettably, were the nation’s awkward years of bad hair bands, though a few hidden punk gems. The 70's, of what people can remember if they weren’t all high on something, were maybe the psychedelic rock days – Doc Ellis, anyone? The 60's – Hippies. The 50's came to life with the formal introduction of rock and roll. This is all mainstream of course.

However, I’ve yet to know what the last decade’s musical footprint was and what is still to come. The more and more I listen to music these days, I’m beginning to think that perhaps these years are the Revisionist years – the years where we reflect on the music of the past and build upon it to reinvent a new sound. Perhaps we are a lazy generation, but some of the music is still damn good. Some damn good examples – She & Him, April Smith and the Great Picture Show, Tennis, and now we can add The Coasts to that list.

While that was a very long intro, I actually have very little information about The Coasts. This duo – Eric Mount and Ike Peters – apparently split their time in Little Rock, AR and Lebanon, OH. After meeting in college, the two became close friends and then began jamming together. Their sound is described as Rock N Roll on their Facebook page. Nothing frilly like “Grunge Pop,” “Indie Rock,” “Retro Rock” or whatever. It’s classic Rock N Roll, and the tracks are best described as infectious jam sessions.

They slow things down a bit with their song “John Lennon” which is a beautifully written, humble autobiography with endearing harmonies, charming horn accompaniments, and sweet piano key strokes.
As they sing in “John Lennon” -

“It’s not likely I’ll get famous
but if I do then
I’ll have to face it
I’m not John Lennon
I’m just a guy with songs”

They might not be John Lennon, but something tells me Lennon would be digging The Coasts. If you buy The Coasts album on their Bandcamp page, a portion of their record sales will go towards Hope For Haiti’s Children). It’s $5, what are you doing still reading this? Go buy it!
- ListenBeforeYouBuy

I had a friend in high school that was constantly listening to The Everly Brothers. Like the first time I almost saw her bewbs she was singing Kathy's Clown. And the second time I almost saw her bewbs I was singing Kathy's Clown trying to get her to accidentally slip a bewb.

I grew a fondness for the peaceful childhood simplicity that those old Everly songs made me feel. I always associate my great aunt's basement with that same type of feeling, in addition to Miss American Pie out of a huge wooden turn dial radio, playing pool without being able to see over the pool table, and that fridge in the corner that always had a shitload of Christmas cookies no matter what time of year it was.

The Coasts and their self titled album boast a similar simplicity that is heavy with sadness, but covered in a confidence that reminds me of those folks a generation or two older than me. Like, yes, shit is tough, we're eating the same canned shit food, wearing work boots with holes, all of our dads, uncles and brothers are fighting a war that isn't ours, there are only two television channels and yet, there's nothing to fucking complain about.

Surfy without feeling coastal, classic without feeling dated, and sing a long without feeling hokey, The Coasts have captured a wide range of genres into a single album that goes from simple piano or banjo accompaniment to a full on tidy Black Keys. This entire album sounds like a feeling. I love the shitting shit out it.

If I had to pick my favorite album from 40 years ago that was released in 2011, it would have to be The Coasts by The Coasts.

I dare you to listen to this fucking album and not at least once sway back and forth, hold your lit lighter in the air, or join in on a few "Ooooooos".

Badassers.

Go buy this shit and help these Arkansas pricks save up for some teeth. - SYFFAL