Beach Fossils

The Roadhouse, Manchester | May 15th

Jumping into the crowd after barely uttering a word, Beach Fossils’ frontman Dustin Payseur is obviously dissatisfied with the reserved behaviour of tonight’s audience. He attempts to share his energy by bobbing amongst embarrassed, toe-tapping youths. ‘Move around more!’, he demands out of frustration as he clambers back onto the stage.

Beach Fossils’ new album Clash The Truth is the fearless, extraverted second album that many indie-surf bands attempt to master. Summoning new band members and abandoning bedroom recorded fuzz, the band have abolished their song-writing adolescence, generating every band’s dream second album victoriously. Their outrageous, unexpected drum fills fabricate a polished performance, moulding the melodies into an amassed resonance. ‘Here’s a brand new song!’, Dustin announces to a sighing crowd, only to follow up with Vacation, forcing the crowd into a delirious, hyperactive bevy.

Unafraid to disguise his self-admiration, Dustin guarantees an encore in which, ignoring the lack of enthusiasm from the crowd, he throws himself onto the raised hands of the audience, proposing an after-party for everyone despite his supposed jet-lag. Nevertheless, having excelled such an accomplished performance, Payseur’s ego is inevitable. Besides, his self-dignity undeniably manifests the band’s success – boosting them above the sea of modest, Pitchfork-bumming, guitar-harmony-addicts that we all know too well.

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Words: Ayesha Linton-Whittle