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Hear Beach Fossils’ Punky Dream-Popper ‘Generational Synthetic’

Beach Fossils

Dustin Payseur admitted to SPIN that he “sort of ended up hating” his last release as Beach Fossils, 2011’s mellow What a Pleasure EP. So for his brand new Clash the Truth LP, due February 19 via Captured Tracks, Payseur brought the energy of his ace live band into the studio, and wound up infusing his formerly pillow-soft bedroom productions with some playful punk energy. We felt the first reverberations of those new vibes with December’s melancholic yet upbeat “Careless,” and now we’ve got a second emanation to consider: “Generational Synthetic.” Though Payseur’s voice still sports his trademark lag, he confidently delivers a rhyming indictment of his peers, then adopts a low-key swoon for the chorus. The bass line is positively post-punk, the drums build at a fast clip, and the guitar spills dream-pop riffage overtop. The end result is still a pleasure, but delightfully roughed up and amped compared to its predecessor.