Although a fan, I'm certainly no diehard; I've touched upon their material since and expect a pretty decent gig. What I got was one of those special gigs that happens so seldom that you treasure it for some time after. All the right ingredients were there the music first and foremost was played feverishly and without any hang ups or worries. The venue itself is a sight to behold, the sweat literally pours from your eyebrows as you step foot inside the place.
The crowd are rowdy, arguably over so at times there are moshes in the middle I was toppled over once which made me think is there any other walk of life other than gigs were you actually don't mind being propelled across the floor? There was several stage invasions from fans, a stage dive by frontman Dustin Payseur. After it was all said and done it was a venue full of sweaty people most holding their heads in their hands in a combination of satisfaction and disbelief at the quality of the gig.
There is clearly an added oomph to the fourtet's music since their eponymous debut LP. They begin tonight's proceedings with 'Birthday' from new album 'Clash the Truth' a few strums in and it becomes evident this wasn't the gig that I was expecting there is a frenetic energy to it which instantly ignites the crowd. They play the title track to their 'What A Pleasure EP, this was the EP which signalled a shift from lo-fi to something a bit more far reaching and this tune is one of tonight's highlights, shimmery guitar, a catchy chorus and genuine infectiousness.
Frontman Dustin Payseur says they are only in London for a few hours and that they want to party. He says that we can move around a bit more if we want and boy, does the crowd oblige. What follows is incessant moshing, crowd surfing, stage invasions and tomfoolery of the highest order.
'Generational Synthetic' is a post-punk rock and roll judder fest, between the dead pan almost dejected lyrically styling there is a fantastic hook underpinning the whole track, which is part of what makes Beach Fossils work in general melodies.
Another stand out quality from Beach Fossils is just how good the guitar hooks are, best evidenced on 'Youth' which has the crowd humming along with the guitar parts in unison. There is a certain atmospheric quality that the guitar in beach fossils lends itself too which gives the music more scope than it probably gets credit for.
'The Horse' is pretty much a perfect track, hook laden guitar with an unforgettable bass line and Payseur singing some of the most desolate heart wrenching lyrics which you can't help but feel an affinity with.
'Clash the Truth', the title track from their current LP, sees yet another stage invasion from this buoyant crowd, the poor security man can't cope as a deluge of fans bombard the stage and get into the festivities with the band loving it every bit as much as the fans are. There is a reciprocal adulation from the stage and the crowd so much so that Payseur states that "we feel like the f**king beach boys."
They finish with one of the stand outs from the recent LP 'Crashed Out' which comes complete with jangly guitar and delivered at breakneck speed and shows a musical growth as a band branching out to a more instrumental and punk laden stratosphere. They've already won the masses over but this and the encore of 'Twelve Roses' really rams home how excellent they are. Beach Fossils are at the top and taking it higher.
article by: Paul Mullin
published: 12/09/2013 09:38
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