ANCHR's Artist of the Week: Beach Fossils

Photo by Sinna Nasseri

This week’s artist of the week goes to a long-time favorite of ANCHR’s; Beach Fossils, in honor of their new album Bunny.

Released just last week on June 2nd, Beach Fossils’ fourth studio album follows up 2017’s Somersault. The band’s lineup currently consists of vocalist and songwriter Dustin Payseur alongside Tommy Davidson on guitar, Jack Doyle Smith on bass, and Anton Hochheim on drums. Payseur has been releasing music with Beach Fossils since 2009, and their latest release acts as a culmination of their previous works met with a refined lens. Bunny’s opening track “Sleeping On My Own” has the dreamy, epic feeling of a song from a 1980’s coming-of-age film—picture it playing as the main character experiences a pivotal moment. The second track “Run To The Moon” introduces a twangy, western sound and feels like the perfect road trip track. The twangy vibes weave in and out throughout some of the other songs, but as we get further into the album, listeners can also hear some psychedelic rock influences on “(Just Like The) Setting Sun.”

Payseur produced and recorded Bunny himself, and has stated the record was inspired by the psych-pop of early Verve and Spiritualized albums and perennial influences like The Cure, Wire, The Byrds, and The Velvet Underground. Talking about the songwriting structure of these news songs, Payseur adds, “When I wrote the first record, there were no choruses; it was instrumental guitar parts in between verses. This is the first record where I’ve consciously thought about writing a chorus.” Lyrically, the album examines some of his most personal experiences, including a family member’s battle with cancer and the journey into fatherhood.

Tune into Bunny here, and watch the video for “Don’t Fade Away” below.