Treasures from the mighty deep

Im gonna do a bit of boasting here, just because I can. Ive just come back from a month in Australia (was only meant to be 3 weeks, but I conspired with Mother Nature to allow a volcano to disrupt the world as we know it and give me an extra week off from reality). Even in April it was beautiful weather. I spent the 2nd week with my parents on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Every day we walked along the beach in the early morning sun. We flicked through the flotsam and jetsam thrown up by the surging surf to discover what beauties the ocean had given us. It was a simple and yet cathartic time.

But other than boasting, the experience was inexorably tied to the music that filtered through my iPod over this week. Two bands that were on high rotation also had the moxy to put beach in their monikers. Whilst Ill talk about the much bandied about merits of Beach House at a later date, I thought it would be better to introduce another talented lad in Beach Fossils - and it ties in with my anecdote better.

Beach Fossils is Dustin Payseur, a Brooklyn-ite whose bedroom meanderings are making their way onto the airwaves in no uncertain terms. His self titled debut comes out through Captured Tracks at the end of this month. I absolutely love this record company to death for the gamut of great acts they are unearthing and sharing with the world; the unfortunate byproduct of this is that every act from them gets lumped into the lo-fi/no-fi genre that is currently doing the rounds, and it is unfair to most of them. Beach Fossils is no exception. Payseur's guitarwork underpins the essence of the album - it is intricate underneath the scuzziness, and is moving in a way that most other Captured Tracks artists cannot or refuse to capture. That in itself makes it essential listening.

But above all else, Beach Fossils is just a damned fine songwriter. Dont be surprised to hear more about this guy as 2010 rolls forth to its close. Case in point? The guy has done a bevy of shows in recent times with the likes of Surfer Blood and The Morning Benders, who are both vying for best new band of 2010 in my mind. Nice.

Beach Fossils - Youth