Fade Away (Best Coast EP)

Fade Away is the sixth extended play (EP) by American indie rock duo Best Coast. It was released on October 22, 2013, on frontwoman Bethany Cosentino's label Jewel City. Produced by Wally Gagel, the EP was recorded at Wax Ltd's studios, and was inspired by musical acts like Mazzy Star, Patsy Cline, and My Bloody Valentine. Cosentino wrote the song "Fear of My Identity" about "having an existential crisis" after using the sedative Ambien.

Critical response
Fade Away received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the EP received an average score of 67, based on 15 reviews.

Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone viewed Fade Away as a combination of the band's first two albums, describing it as "masterfully archetypal but utterly [Cosentino's] own." Alternative Press called the EP the band's "best work to date", remarking, "Lyrically introspective, musically tight and vocally resolute [...] Fade Away sounds like a reclamation record for Bethany Cosentino." Pitchfork deemed it a return to form for the band, noting that "[t]here are touches of sophistication across Fade Away that Best Coast haven't been able to achieve until now."

Accolades
Rolling Stone placed Fade Away at number 35 on their list of the 50 Best Albums of 2013, writing, "It's just seven songs but still felt like a breakthrough."

Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Fade Away.

Best Coast
 * Bethany Cosentino – vocals, guitars, keyboards
 * Bobb Bruno – guitars, bass

Additional musicians
 * Brady Miller – drums
 * Ricky Cosentino – drums on "Who Have I Become?" and "Fear of My Identity"
 * Wally Gagel – additional guitars, percussion, keyboards
 * Brett Mielke – lap steel, 12-string electric guitar
 * Xandy Barry – piano

Technical
 * Wally Gagel – production, engineering, mixing
 * Xandy Barry – additional engineering
 * Pete Lyman – mastering

Artwork
 * Bryan Collins – artwork