Mar 12

Mar 12 Beach Fossils - 'Clash The Truth'

Far from a household name, Beach Fossils are an 4-piece indie rock band from Brooklyn in New York. Their sound is hard to nail in words, especially after listening to their latest release (their second album), 'Clash The Truth'. Throughout the album the sounds blend from driven surf pop rock, to dreamy lo-fi psychedelic indie to slightly more mature new wave post-punk type sounds.

'Clash The Truth' comes 3 years after their self-titled debut, which was very well received but perhaps was lacking some of the higher-end production quality debut albums rarely have. Beach Fossils are a band however who's sound benefits greatly from a lot of specific production work; and it shows on this album. Interlude sections on tracks such as 'Burn You Down' and 'Careless' highlight the dynamic of the band's sound. The spacey sounds again pay off on their actual interlude track 'Ascension' and 'In Vertigo' which features Kazu Makino from Blonde Redhead.

My main criticism of the record is an unfortunate one; and that's that the actual songwriting tends to be a little bland. This can be heard on the mess of a track 'Caustic Cross', which while sounding ambitious; pretty much fails miserably. There are moments throughout the album where your brain just simply won't agree with what's happening. I recommend this album for people who like really enjoyable music on while they're trying to be productive, and don't mind drifting off into a lo-fi wonderland for 2 or 3 minutes at a time, but aren't looking to be blown off their feet.

Having said this, this is a step forward for Beach Fossils and some of the stuff in this album will have you licking your dry grandma lips for a release where they take this sound to the next level.