Beach Fossils

Chiming guitars, reverb-heavy production, and easygoing songwriting with vague traces of nostalgia made Beach Fossils one of the more adored acts in a particular wave of dreamy indie rock bands. Along with albums released around the same time by Wild Nothing and DIIV, Beach Fossils’ self-titled 2010 album was a defining document of the kind of hazy, gently warped sound these bands were exploring as they started out. Subsequent albums found Beach Fossils both upping production values and trying new stylistic approaches, ranging from a clearer sound on 2017 album Somersault to the jazz-inflected renditions of older songs on 2021′s The Other Side of Life: Piano Ballads.
Beach Fossils originally formed in 2009 as a vehicle for the reverb-heavy solo recordings of guitarist/vocalist Dustin Payseur. Bassist John Pena and guitarist Christopher Burke were brought into Beach Fossils’ lineup later that year, after Payseur had single-handedly put together the recordings that would comprise the group’s first album. Beach Fossils’ debut 7″ single, Daydream/Desert Sand, was released on Captured Tracks in February 2010; their self-titled album was released on the same label later that year. Pena and Payseur worked together on the group’s next release, 2011′s What a Pleasure EP, before Pena left to focus on his own group Heavenly Beat. The next Beach Fossils album featured drummer Tommy Gardner and production from the Men’s Ben Greenberg. Clash the Truth was issued in early 2013 on Captured Tracks.
After taking a break, during which the band appeared on the HBO show Vinyl as members of the early-’70s “punk” band “the Nasty Bits,” the group began working on a new album. This time out, Payseur involved the other members of the band in the writing process, with both bassist Jack Doyle Smith and guitarist Tommy Davidson contributing ideas. The record was made in various locales in New York City and Los Angeles, including engineer Jonathan Rado’s home studio and a cabin in Upstate New York, and featured guest vocals from Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell and Cities Aviv. Somersault was released in early 2017 on Bayonet Records, a label Payseur started with his wife Kate Garcia. 2018 output included a cover of Yung Lean’s “Agony” and a split single with Wavves for a tour. In 2021 the band released a ten year anniversary edition of their self-titled debut that included a limited edition 7-inch of “Vacation” with the previously unreleased b-side “Time.” In November of 2021, fourth album The Other Side of Life: Piano Ballads was released on Bayonet. The album featured eight songs plucked from across the band’s discography, re-recorded in a tender and saxophone-dappled jazz style. ~ Tim Sendra