Music Q&A:
Beach Fossils

The Brooklyn band is really the brainchild of Dustin Payseur. Their follow-up to their self-titled album is new release Clash The Truth which is brimming with Payseur’s characteristically soaring, hazy indie rock.

Did you feel that, following the debut album, there was an aesthetic that was expected of you?

For me, Beach Fossils has a definite style. This style can do anything and go anywhere that it pleases, but there are some loose and invisible boundaries keeping things together. I like there to be an amount of consistency. It’s an exercise in a way, to see how far I can take one concept.

How do you feel about touring? A necessary evil or something you actively seek out?

Touring is a complicated, exhausting and beautiful experience. It’s a rare opportunity that I’ve been chasing after my entire life. There’s no feeling like stepping on stage in a city you’ve never been before and playing to a crowd who is just as excited to be there as you are. No matter how tired I am, the crowd wakes me up immediately. I feel both lost and found at the same time.

Do you find that you tend to play songs twice as fast live?

Of course – it just takes you there. Whatever the moment calls for is pulled out subconsciously. Usually it’s an aggressive, communal and engaging performance for both us and the crowd coming together.

Your guitar sound is so dreamy and your vocals mimic that haziness. Is that just the way you are or do you suppress a husky growl at times?

I’m not sure. It goes back to the invisible boundaries of Beach Fossils. I would love to scream and yell sometimes, but this music makes me so relaxed.

Do you still value the album format or are you much more of a single song kind of guy when it comes to your listening habits concerning other artists?

I love both. An album is only a collection of songs, and songs are only a collection of moments. Those moments are really what count. Turning those moments into bigger moments we call songs, and then turning those songs into one gigantic moment called an album, is a great feeling.

Lianne Steinberg