With their recent single “Don’t Fade Away,” Beach Fossils demonstrated just the right amount of reinvention. Fans familiar with the band would instantly recognize its mellow, laid-back tones, but there was something else: a completely irresistible chorus that pointed toward the band embracing more traditional pop sensibilities. For their first album of new material in six years, vocalist Dustin Payseur wanted to switch things up a bit.
Since forming in 2009, Beach Fossils have always favored songs devoid of traditional forms, favoring something more deeply atmospheric and engrossed in the stories Payseur was telling, often without branching off into choruses. But all of that changes on their fifth album Bunny, as Payseur wanted to challenge himself, in doing so pushing the band toward one of their most rewarding efforts to date.
In discussing Beach Fossils’ pivot to pop structures, Payseur is keen to highlight Oasis. “They just have the most anthemic choruses—they’re humongous,” he notes. “When the second chorus hits it’s larger than life, and that feeling is great. If the verse is great and you can take that 100 percent further in the chorus, that’s true artistry. For some artists that comes so naturally, and when you hear it you can’t help but to get chills.”
An ever-present quality of Payseur’s writing has been his penchant for emotional transparency—each Beach Fossils album feels like an honest reflection of his thoughts and experiences during the time in which it was written. Back in February, the band marked the 10th anniversary of 2013’s Clash the Truth, an album that Payseur describes as the byproduct of “not knowing where I was in life, being confused about what had just happened and what was about to happen, and being in the eye of the storm.”
“Bunny is me accepting my life and who I am now without having to feel like there needs to be answers for all that stuff. I think that acceptance is part of maturing.”
In the 10 years since Clash the Truth, Payseur has entered a new stage in his life, with a brand new environment and dynamic. His younger self may not have gotten all the answers he was looking for, but Bunny speaks to the life lessons he’s learned in the time since. “Bunny is me not necessarily knowing the answers to those questions but accepting my life and who I am now without having to feel like there needs to be answers for all that stuff. I think that acceptance is part of maturing.”
One of the biggest changes in his life has been the birth of his daughter, who inspired the track “Run to the Moon”—a dream-like dosage of instant euphoria written in light of Payseur’s changing mindset as he became anxious about jumping into parenthood to the point where he started taking medication. However he’s found no need to rely on prescriptions since being profoundly affected by the birth of his daughter. “The life of an artist can be very self-centered. I was like, ‘How am I going to be able to balance this?’ But we made that decision, and honestly I’m just so glad because it’s made me a better person. I think it's made me a better artist, and it’s given me types of love that I didn’t realize I needed.”
The lyrics for Bunny were written in a two-week stint, despite some of the instrumentals taking up to six years to create. Hunkered down in a room completely alone, the words came to him quicker than ever, which he credits to his daughter’s impact. “My approach to songwriting is a lot more immediately emotional now,” he says. “My daughter has shifted the way that I see everything in my daily life. There’s now a feeling of being intentional and direct and emotional that has always been there, but sometimes it would take me a minute to tap into that. Now it’s more immediate.”
It becomes apparent during our conversation that Payseur is never one to hide his feelings, discussing how Beach Fossils has always been an outlet for him to showcase honesty and vulnerability. It’s the antithesis of the attitudes shown in society toward masculinity where—especially in older generations—there’s been a tendency to bottle feelings up. “I don’t know why there’s so much bullshit,” he says. “I don’t know why there’s so much dancing around the truth of how people feel. I think there’s a lot of this stuff ingrained in society, but I do feel optimistic that with every generation people are having to wear a little bit less of a mask and are more comfortable and appreciated for who they are.”
“I do feel optimistic that with every generation people are having to wear a little bit less of a mask and are more comfortable and appreciated for who they are.”
There’s a frequent contrast of light and dark within Bunny: the aforementioned “Don’t Fade Away” grapples with destructive tendencies, but also with the relief that can be found in others—if only temporarily. Elsewhere tracks such as “Dare Me” lean heavier into darker themes, and amongst a backdrop of riffs that feel like they belong in a shadowy neon-lit street Payseur cuts a lonely figure. But lately his relationship with mental health has been improving, which speaks to those lighter moments winning out. “I think just being diagnosed for certain things can be a relief. Having a professional tell you it’s something a lot of people are dealing with, it’s like, ‘OK, I’m not alone in these feelings.’”
Being on tour is where mental health problems can become exacerbated, where being constantly on the move and lacking sleep and routine can become a monotonous cycle. Luckily, Payseur has a readymade support network at hand in bandmates Tommy Davidson, Jack Doyle Smith, and Anton Hochheim. “It’s easy to quickly fall into anxious and depressive feelings, and I think we’re able to see that in each other,” he shares. “I find it easy to express to my bandmates when I’m feeling that way, so I don’t find it isolating. Just having them to talk to about that can fix you up, because they’re the sweetest people and they know how to handle that.”
Coming to the close of Bunny, the song “Waterfall” is a mesmeric ode to a family member who was battling cancer. It’s written in clear reverence of them, projecting a genuine sense of warmth with shimmering textures and notes that feel like a wholehearted embrace. When somebody you love goes through such a fight, suddenly your priorities change and you see things from another new perspective. For Payseur, “Waterfall” was a chance to express his love. “Your time is limited, and the people that you love, their time is limited, too. I wrote this song and played it for her, which was a very emotional experience. We were crying together and I feel so lucky I was able to express how much they mean to me. I guess it’s a little bit of a gift.”
It’s a tender and honest reflection that emphasizes where Beach Fossils are as a band and the emotional depths that Payseur is reaching into on Bunny. The band has unlocked a deeper level of vulnerability, and through maturing together they’re releasing the most heartfelt work of their career. FL
