Beach Fossils – Beach Fossils
Posted by: nick
Beach Fossils release their eponymous debut through label of the moment, Captured Tracks, on June 1st. It’s set to be one of our most played records of the summer and probably far beyond. Beautiful lo-fi guitar pop songs that echo with nostalgia and yearn for landscapes far more open than the Brooklyn apartment in which once one man band Dustin Payseur wrote them.
For Fans Of: Kurt Vile, Wild Nothing, Felt.
Dustin made the move from North Carolina to the more musically famed Brooklyn in 2009 and began self recording the songs you hear on Beach Fossil’s debut in the autumn of that year using a Tascam four-track and Logic Pro. Several demos were leaked along the way (Daydream, Time, Wide Awake, Youth) and the sublime ‘Daydream’ got an official single release through Brooklyn’s Captured Tracks who now release the album.
In time leading up to here the band has gone from just Dustin to a definite three piece including John Pena (bass) and Sennott Burke (guitar) and a sometimes four piece including Cole Smith (drums) who contributed to tracks ‘Wide Awake’ and ‘Gathering’. When playing live Cole (who also plays guitar for Darwin Deez) can be seen jumping between his drums, long hair flailing, using the most energy possible to play those seemingly laid back beats. A welcome addition then.
The star of the show here though is Dustin’s songwriting. If you’re not more or less hooked by first song ‘Sometimes’ then this likely won’t be the record for you. It’s an album that builds upon but never diverges too far from that basic sun-drenched bedroom-pop formula.
If it’s your bag, and it’s certainly ours, keep going and you’ll get to straight up summer jam ‘Vacation’, the heart achingly beautiful ‘Youth’ and the perfect as we’d want it to be summer pop gem ‘Daydream’. From there on in whether it’s ‘Twelve Roses’, ‘Golden Age’, the more melancholy ‘Window View’ or subtle instrumental album closer ‘The Gathering’, there’s a song for almost any moment.
Beach Fossils’ debut then is an album that can be enjoyed without much effort or thought and at the same time will reward closer, more attentive scrutiny whenever the moment should arise (perfect for headphone listening) . If you’re anything like us then the combination of simple, surf-tinged guitar licks, thoughtful lyrics and hypnotic drums will go down smooth. We know sometime soon we’ll be yearning for that summer sun to stay up an hour longer so we can play this album just one more time before it gets too cold to sit outside. Or maybe we’ll just grab another drink and push on through all the way to sunrise.
“In the Golden Age We Will Never Die”. Dustin Payseur, Track 07.
Beach Fossils – Beach Fossils is due out officially June 1st through Captured Tracks but un-officially you can grab it now from: iTunes / eMusic / 7digital / cd / lp (Rough Trade)
