Beach Fossils

Clash the Truth (Captured Tracks)

The sophomore LP from Beach Fossils directly challenges the lo-fi, woozy sound of their eponymous 2010 debut, with Dustin Payseur looking to capture the expanded live sound of the Brooklyn quartet with production from the Men’s Ben Greenberg. Clash rings more confidently from the opening title track, even if Payseur flails in his attempts to unravel what it all means through songs like “Generational Synthetic,” the lazy haze pushed forward with more propulsive guitar against spit lyrics like, “All your words are so magnetic, generation apathetic.” The soft lull of “Sleep Apnea” sinks into the Fossils’ familiar shoegaze, but all the songs are clipped so short that atmosphere is unfortunately never given the chance to fully evolve and envelope. Still, the aggressive fuzz of “Birthday” and haunting hum of “In Vertigo” (the latter featuring harmony from Blonde Redhead’s Kazu Makino) pack a late-album punch. (Friday, 2:15pm, Orange stage)

**.5

This article appears in November 8 • 2013.

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Doug Freeman has been writing for the Austin Chronicle since 2007, covering the arts and music scene in the city. He is originally from Virginia and earned his Masters Degree from the University of Texas. He is also co-editor of The Austin Chronicle Music Anthology, published by UT Press.