Beach Fossils – ‘Bunny’ album review
American indie rockers Beach Fossils began as the solo project of frontman Dustin Payseur in 2008. However, after expanding to include additional musicians, Beach Fossils have firmly cemented themselves as essential voices in the lo-fi indie genre following the release of three studio albums.
Their fourth album, Bunny, sees the band explore themes such as fatherhood, depression, grief, friendship and love, making it feel infinitely relatable to listeners. The record is beautifully atmospheric, evoking nostalgia and hazy summer days with reverberating guitars and peppy drum beats that pay homage to shoegaze, dream pop and indie rock artists from the 1990s.
In fact, it would be easy to fool someone into believing that the record was released 30 years ago, which is no bad feat. This is not to say that Bunny feels dated – Payseur’s lyrics help to bring the album to the 21st century, with words such as “Might be too depressed/Lost in A.D.D” from ‘Run to the Moon’ feeling unmistakably modern.
Although the band create some gorgeous textures, with rich jangling guitars creating an excellent base for Pasyeur’s vocal musings, these lyrics are often the album’s weakest moments. His laid-back voice – which isn’t the strongest conveyer of emotion – often revels in clichés, such as those listed above, as well as lines such as “out on tour, just finished this pack of cigarettes/ and I don’t even smoke”.
Ironically, the song ‘Dare Me’ features the line “kill the cliché for a moment/ and I’ll tell it like it is”, yet it also includes platitudinous lines such as “I’ll be your contender/ If we can live forever/ Caught in this landslide/ Are we gonna be running till the end of our lives?”
However, these criticisms don’t negate the fact that each track is gorgeously composed, seeing Beach Fossils create some of their most instrumentally captivating cuts yet. On the first track, ‘Sleeping On My Own’, the opening riffs are so heavily laced with nostalgia that it sounds like it could’ve been taken from a ’90s teen movie soundtrack. Despite the clichéd lyrics of ‘Run to the Moon’, it can be unanimously agreed that the gentle layering of instruments makes for a pleasant and refreshing listen.
The pace picks up on ‘Don’t Fade Away’ and ‘(Just Like The) Setting Sun’, although the songs retain a relatively steady pace that tires quickly. Still, a highlight comes in the form of ‘Anything Is Anything’, which builds up with fuzzy guitars and a jumping drum beat, complete with shimmering riffs bountifully spreading themselves over the top.
Bunny begins to sag with monotony in the middle, although it would be unfair to say that the individual songs are all lacklustre. The issue that arises is the lack of differentiation between each song, which often makes the album feel like it’s blending into one.
Even still, the album has its highlights, ‘Feel So High’ mirroring the spacey psychedelic nature of the title, and ‘Numb’ taking a heavier, shoegaze-influenced approach that stands out as one of the album’s strongest moments.
Overall, Bunny is an impressive effort, yet one that lacks enough power to sustain repeated listens and interest. Beach Fossils demonstrate their skills at making intricately complex soundscapes that resonate with a retro sensibility, but it leaves us wishing for more meat to chew on.
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