Ever summer needs its soundtrack. More than any other season summer requires a defining cannon of music. This isn't to say that music isn't just as important throughout the year, but each season's musical needs are different. Certainly fall and winter need their backing score, but their soundscapes are often comprised of comfort choices dictated by nostalgia and the need to survive the year's darkest months. For instance, once the leaves start to turn and the skies darken, I find myself queuing up shoegaze artists like Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine as well as metal bands like Immortal and Slayer, the former as the audial equivalent of a security blanket, while the latter provides the spark needed to survive though the cold dark months. Spring, on the other hand, requires a disparate cacophony of sounds to shake off the darkness of winter. Summer, though, summer demands something new, bright and shiny.Enter Beach Fossils. Picking up on both the lo-fi and chillwave threads of the last couple of years the band seamlessly combine both trends into a unified sound on their bright and shiny new self-titled debut. In the process they have crafted the perfect summer record. The album's eleven songs all grow out of the band's basic template of dreamy reverbed vocals and picked guitar melodies over restrained drums and subdued, but busy, bass. There are all sorts of points of reference that jump out on first listen - early R.E.M., the Feelies, Real Estate, maybe a sunnier, less British, version of mid-80s Cure and New Order. To the band's credit, though, while all of those nostalgia-baiting touchstones are unavoidable, in the end these guys have their own sound going on. Maybe it is the utter consistency by which these guys stick by their own blueprint, or maybe because nothing else sounds this simultaneously relaxed and invigorating. You can nap to this, or you can have a party, preferably a beach party, of course, regardless this album makes either choice equally viable.
What criticisms there have been of Beach Fossils is that there is too much consistency too much of the same that it threatens to become sonic wallpaper, easily blending into the background. I get where those critiques are coming from, but it also shows a lack of attention on the part of critics. Eventually each song emerges on its own terms and highlights like "Twelve Roses," "Golden Age" and "Daydream" stand out. Furthermore, even if the album's sonic sameness is overly consistent, it's consistent in a good way - it's a perfect sound, so why complain about eleven perfectly crafted and performed indie-pop songs?
Lyrically the band comes off a bit more introverted, as reflected in the reverbed vocals of lead man Dustin Payseur. Some songs are straightforward, like "Vacation," and "Youth," which explore the freedom and longing that both provide, while others, like "Daydream" and "Sometimes" are more vague, featuring generalized lyrics that allow listeners to personalize their meaning. Here too the band hits the sweet spot. What could be more inviting for a summer record than hazy, but sunny pop songs with just the right amount of wanderlust?
This is music that wraps around you and fits like that pair of your favorite worn Chucks that you lace up as you are getting ready to hit the road. It's the music of those dust particles caught in late-afternoon light, as well as the sun and the breeze that runs through your hair when the window is rolled down and you are going in the opposite direction of your hometown. It's the music of both comfort and new adventure. In other words, it is the perfect summer soundtrack.
Wheeler says: "It's sleepy, but it's good and it makes me want to tap things."
"Daydream" acoustic live
"Lazy Day" live
"Twelve Roses" live
"Vacation" live
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