There are currently no functioning synonyms (ask Thesaurus) for the term “lo-fi,” so I’ll spare us all the agony of trying to find a more nuanced way to pigeonhole this band. Fuzzed-out beach rock already feels dead, and it’s not even summer yet.
On their debut, the young Beach Fossils separate themselves from the rest of the pack by coloring the ubiquitous surf-pop sound with a listlessness that makes them seem like weary veterans. While everyone else is applying a fresh layer of sunscreen, Beach Fossils sound like the jaded kids who grew up in a touristy beach town and wouldn’t dream of setting foot on the sand until the last umbrellas come down post¬–Labor Day — but they’re too unmotivated to move away or join their peers.
“I never have plans when it turns to night/Cuz I don’t do nothing but stay inside,” frontman Dustin Payseur half-hums on “Golden Age.” The combo that’s lethal in life — lazy and restless — works magically on the album, drifting by atop dually dark and catchy streamlined melodies, carried by powerful bass lines à la Joy Division’s “Disorder.” It’s a best-case album for beach days foiled by clouds.
