It makes sense that a band like Coasting would be vaguely fixated on the concept of places. The duo, guitarist/vocalist Madison Farmer from Memphis and drummer/vocalist Fiona Campbell from New Zealand, met and began playing while both were living in Brooklyn before Fiona relocated to Portland, writing songs and touring when Campbell wasn't trotting the globe for her other gig as Vivian Girls' drummer. The incredibly complex and transient nature of the bandmembers was bound to sneak into the songwriting at some point, and Coasting's debut album, You're Never Going Back, is thick with references to home, leaving, staying, and all the various places in between. Sonically, Coasting weaves a weird combination of garage punk energy and indie laissez-faire. The bass-free instrumentation immediately suggests stripped-down garage rock, and there's a garagey backbone, to be sure, but intricate girl group-style harmony vocals wind through almost every song, filling some of the negative space with a layer of mysterious beauty. Album highlight "Portland" finds the duo lamenting displacement and looking for a true sense of home over an incredibly catchy, soaring chorus of "Where should we go?" Farmer's one-string riffs make plenty of space for Campbell's subtly complex drums and even more slight touches of organ. This canvas makes the most of dynamics on songs like "For Hours" and "Been Here Before," where the uncrowded sound makes slight shifts in both playing and production pop brightly. Coasting often get lumped in with neo-girl group contemporaries such as Dum Dum Girls, Best Coast, Vivian Girls, and the like, but the wide open spaces and considered songwriting bring to mind the last generation's punking up of girl group moments more than trends toward bedroom ennui. Campbell's steadfast drumming is a cousin to Sara Lund's playing in northwestern '90s luminaries Unwound, and the minimal, sometimes spooky drum and guitar interplay isn't too far removed from D.C. all-girl punk trio Slant 6 or even early Sleater-Kinney. Coasting steers clear of any trendy trappings on You're Never Going Back, opting instead to cultivate a unique, nervy sound and paint a picture of restlessness and searching that feels as honest as it does urgent. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi

1		Starts and Stays
2		Kids
3		Same Old, Same Old
4		Portland
5		For Hours
6		Pirates Cove
7		Ultra Vapid Scene
8		Friends
9		Been Here Before
10		Snoozefest
11		Delusions of Grandeur

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