Beach Fossils

Although frontman Payseur and drummer Tommy Gardner were the only full-time members of the band with song writing credits on 2013’s ‘Clash the Truth’, the two are now joined by Jack Doyle Smith and Tommy Davidson, and are signed to Brooklyn indie label Captured Tracks. Past members have included DIIV’s Zachary Cole Smith and John Peña, who left to form Heavenly Beat.

Their 2010 self-titled debut album on Captured Tracks featured a somewhat modest attitude towards song writing – simple yet catchy lead guitars chime out over rhythmic bass lines, whilst Payseur’s echoing vocals float on alongside on gentle waves of reverb. This first full-length was followed by the release of the 2011 EP ‘What a Pleasure’, which saw the band draw comparisons to fellow lo-fi/indie purveyors Wild Nothing, whose frontman Jack Tatum appeared as a vocalist on the track ‘Out in the Way’.

By contrast, 2013’s ‘Clash the Truth’ was both more complex and more ambitious; the lo-fi approach they had previously favored was refined rather than replaced, but the addition of new elements to their sound such as the dream pop instrumental sections of single ‘Careless’ and the droning, atmospheric interlude ‘Modern Holiday’ led to an altogether more in-depth, unpredictable album. The circumstances surrounding its recording could have easily been disastrous for the band – ‘Clash the Truth’ was put together after the line-up that toured for the album ‘Beach Fossils’ had all but dissolved, and then Hurricane Sandy destroyed Civil Defense, the studio they had been working in. In spite of these setbacks, ‘Clash the Truth’ received positive reviews and reached number 40 on the Independent Record Chart.

Beach Fossils are known for their animated, passionate performances and have toured with their friends and label-mates DIIV and Heavenly Beat, as well having played with indie favorites Real Estate and Mac Demarco, among others.