It’s always refreshing when a band that begins with a clear modus operandi, even an unspoken one, grows in popularity while refining that sound and not succumbing to pandering to the audience in any way. That is the very path local four-piece Beach Fossils have taken, employing sparkling, interweaving guitar melodies, bouncy lead-like bass-lines and carefree vocals, while still employing a sense of raw energy that keeps them firmly planted in the Captured Tracks roster. What started out as a four-track recording project for Dustin Payseur, a North Carolina transplant, has grown into a four-piece band that has sharpened their creative vision to a trebly point. Beach Fossils are about to embark on a national tour that sees them sharing stages with Small Black (whom we interviewed not long ago), Here We Go Magic, Javelin, Bear in Heaven, and more. 

BBK: Dustin! How are you doing today? 

Beach Fossils: Pretty good, had a seriously mellow day so far. 

BBK: Cool. What has the day entailed?

Beach Fossils: Woke up, made some tea, listened to records and worked on some new songs, just about all you need for a good start. 

BBK: Sounds pretty great, especially on this rainy day. So, your album came out May 25. Why did you decide to make it eponymous?

Beach Fossils: It felt right, just seems like a nice clean start.

BBK: The album has a really nice flow and a very cohesive feel. Did you set out to make music within certain guidelines or did it just naturally evolve as it did? For example, it seems there are no cymbals at all on the whole album, correct?

Beach Fossils: At first it started as something for fun, I didn’t know if I had intentions to show anybody, but it started coming together and became really fun to work on so I kept going with it and had to consciously make it cohesive, but still didn’t stick to any strict guidelines. I think it’s really important to let it flow so you don’t get stuck.

BBK: Is this your first musical project or had you been in bands previously that influenced the direction you took with Beach Fossils?

Beach Fossils: I’ve been self-recording since I was a kid and playing in bands for years but this is the first time I’ve stayed devoted and fully focused to a project and letting it take off. There wasn’t necessarily any influence for the direction it has been going in. It is the first time I’ve attempted "pop" music and it feels really great.

BBK: Cool. It’s definitely a very refreshing, direct record. What do you use to record these days at home? I’m always interested in this, as I too am a home-recordist.

Beach Fossils: Sometimes I’ll start off on a four-track recorder, but once a riff comes out I can start to hear the whole song and need to get it out faster so I usually record digitally, that way I can start layering immediately, I can be totally A.D.D. when I’m working, actually the only way I can focus is by not focusing. So yeah, it all ends up being digitally recorded in the end. But we’re going to the next record on tape since I’m with a full band now.

BBK: Gotcha. I was going to ask more about the recording process because there are a lot of intricate, intertwined guitar parts weaving in and out. Are those all recorded by you or did the other guitarist in the band contribute to those as well? Or did you record all of the instruments on the album alone?

Beach Fossils: I recorded and mixed the album by myself except for "Wide Awake" and "Gathering," which had contributions from John (the bassist) who added some guitar and bass lines.

BBK: Cool. Has the band started writing as a group? How has that changed the dynamic of the songs?

Beach Fossils: Yeah, now we all work together. At first I was scared of writing with others but after playing music with these guys for a while we really get where each other are coming from and it’s nearly perfect. I always wished I could clone myself so I could work faster and not have to argue about parts with other people but now what I have with my band is even better than that because we write songs together that I could have never done on my own. In a way the sound has changed, it’s evolved a lot, the newer songs are much more complicated but still simple at the same time. It’s something I’m proud to be doing.

BBK: Cool. It’s always great when you can find people that fit so well and you’re able to work with them and keep true to your own spirit.  

You recently recorded an Insound video session — did you approach the songs differently for that than you do for your regular live shows?

Beach Fossils: The sessions we did for them were more like how we would record if we were in a studio recording a session for an album. our shows tend to get pretty raucous, we get pretty energetic onstage and give each other bruises and black eyes more often than not. I figure the audience has already heard the relaxed versions of the songs on the album and let’s get out the full experience on stage. It’s not a conscious thing, I thought I was going to be the only one moving around when we started playing shows but I looked over and everyone else was going pretty wild too, so I thought hey this is going to work out!

BBK: Haha. That’s a good sign. I wanted to ask you about your other project, Peace In.

Beach Fossils: Oh nice, nobody ever brings this up! 

BBK: What made you decide to separate the two projects?

Beach Fossils: Peace In is a project where I don’t allow any limits to get in the way, it’s not about a specific sound at all, and it’s also not about not having a specific sound, for the most part it’s very ambient but it can be aggressive at times. I haven’t actually recorded any songs for that in quite a while because I’ve been so wrapped up in working with Beach Fossils but I may work on another album for Peace In one day.

BBK: Did you find yourself working on songs for Peace In that naturally developed into a Beach Fossils song? Or was it always clearly in your mind that you were recording a song for one project or the other?

Beach Fossils: The later Peace In songs started turning into a style that sounds more like Beach Fossils but when I started adding guitars it felt like an entirely new project and I decided to separate them, because Beach Fossils did start to become more of a focused sound.

BBK: Ok I see. Let’s talk a bit about Bushwick, since this is for BushwickBK, after all.  

When you moved from NC, did you move straight to Bushwick? What made you choose this area?

Beach Fossils: Mainly because I knew nothing about NYC and needed to live somewhere cheap. I actually really hated living in Bushwick because my first time here, a kid tried to rob me and after moving in, a dude tried to fight me on the sidewalk. It was a mess and I was really poor, but after I moved away I realized how great Bushwick is — all the places to play have much crazier shows, people seem more dedicated out there, the spaces are larger and the people who live in and run the places where shows go on are much more involved, they seem to truly care about the art and the music rather than getting their share of the cash at the end of the night. I’m sure that’s all there too but these people seem like they really just want to organize events that they want to have fun with and be a part of. A lot of passion; it’s nice to see so much of that thriving in an almost unsuspecting area. 

BBK: Where are you living now?

Beach Fossils: I live in South Williamsburg; it’s actually not that great but it’s close to everything. The rest of the band lives in Greenpoint and I’ll be making the move out there in the next few months. As far as Brooklyn goes it seems like the best place I can hang my hat.

BBK: Cool. What were some of the spaces that you played in Bushwick that you most enjoyed?

Beach Fossils: My favorite is probably Market Hotel; it’s a shame they’ve had to shut it down for a bit recently. Also just some low profile warehouse spots that don’t get to run long enough to keep a name. It seems like that happens a bit, the cops crack down hard on those places. 

BBK: Yeah. We have been chronicling the Market Hotel story pretty closely. Hopefully it gets up and running again soon! Thanks for chatting, Dustin.