Bethany Cosentino has come a long way with her fun-loving, sometimes ironic, and always irreverent lyrics and musical persona. However, there is no doubt that the current state of her career wouldn’t be possible without hard work.

Cosentino was raised amidst the West Coast music scene, and the products of this influence are immediately obvious to first-time listeners of her surf-pop venture, Best Coast. Originally founded in 2009 with producer and longtime friend Bobb Bruno, Best Coast is a unique project in that it doesn’t sound like anything on the radio today. The band’s studio debut Crazy For You was released in July of 2010 to positive reviews and commercial success, despite being supported by an independent label and little to no promotion.

After the release of Crazy For You, Best Coast enjoyed a media frenzy that helped bring about several career-defining milestones, with more than a handful of viral music videos, an album peaking at no. 36 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and a music video (“Our Deal”) directed by Drew Barrymore.

According to Cosentino, the lyrics on Crazy For You were mostly inspired by her move back to the West Coast, after several miserable years attending college in Brooklyn. It’s no surprise then that the majority of Best Coast’s lyrics contain some form of homage to the Golden State.

Cosentino’s love for California doesn’t stop at the lyrics themselves, the production and overall sound of a Best Coast record is heavily influenced by 1960s girl-groups and the beach boys. Earlier material put out by the band was distinctly lo-fi, with thick layers of reverb and heavy filtering in order to obtain a more aged, garage-pop sound.

Best Coast’s sophomore album The Only Place was released once again to critical acclaim and high publicity for the band. Opting for a more polished and acoustic sound, The Only Place explored similar lyrical themes that stuck with the bands mixture of California love and lighthearted energy. Rolling Stone awarded it number 14 on it’s top 50 albums of 2012 list, calling Cosentino’s voice “one of indie rock’s mightiest”, and praising the more refined production quality.

Nowhere in today’s popular music scene will you find a band/artist who carries a sound even remotely similar to that which Cosentino conjures with her impressively resonating vocals, and you would be hard-pressed to find music that is more abundantly sun-kissed and carefree than Best Coast’s catalog of summer anthems.