Clash The Truth
Making the leap from home-brewed project to full-fledged band, Beach Fossils explore the darker edges of dream pop on their sophomore album, *Clash the Truth*. Singer and multi-instrumentalist Dustin Payseur reveals a shadowy angst. It\'s benefitted by the versatile drumming of newly recruited Tommy Gardner, who organically anchors the tracks\' reverb-drenched ambiance. *Clash the Truth* fleshes out its bittersweet melodies with sleek yet tense arrangements that recall everyone from New Order to Surfer Blood. At the center are Payseur’s tales of alienation and heartache, sung with a mixture of betrayed innocence and cool dispassion. Songs like “Shallow,” “Taking Off,\" and the title number are both lean and expansive, hinting at vast longings beyond their clean rhythmic lines. The aggressive thrust of “Caustic Cross” balances the soft-rock melancholy of “Sleep Apnea,” suggesting twin extremes of the same pervasive mood. Blonde Redhead’s Kazu Makino joins Payseur for “In Vertigo,” a bruised lovers\' duet sparkling with propulsive guitar jangle. “Generation Synthetic” offers a sardonic commentary on the transformation of indie rock into just another consumer product.
The New York City dream pop band's second album sees them introduce a darker, more socially aware edge, though it trades their former instrumental rigidity for amiable, mid-fi college rock jangle.
An album that instantly plateaus at charming, and doesn’t dare deviate.
In the time since the release of Beach Fossils' 2010 self-titled debut LP, Dustin Payseur saw his solo project evolve into…
After recording the first Beach Fossils album in decidedly lo-fi fashion and mostly by himself, Dustin Payseur decided to make a change for the group's second album, 2013's Clash the Truth.
Dustin Payseur has luck on his side. Just hours before Hurricane Sandy ravaged NYC, the Beach Fossils frontman finished his second album in...
Beach Fossils - Clash the Truth review: In which Dustin Payseur and co. emerge after three long years