Bunny - Beach Fossils: Review

Beach Fossils

are a New York dream pop band who have been going for well over a decade now. Their 2010 self-titled debut is seen by many as an influential release in the development of the lo-fi beachy sounds of indie music in the decade following. Bunny is the band's 4th record and comes after a long 6-year gap in studio material.

Review by Lav:

I've always enjoyed Beach Fossils' music and I was pretty excited for this record following the first two singles. I had a vision of what the record would be like going into it but my biggest question was whether it would drown in a haze of sameness or if the songs would work together to be more than the sum of their parts. Turns out it's the latter, I like the record even if none of the deep cuts wowed me as much as I might have hoped. 

There are some songs on this record like Tough Love, (Just Like The) Setting Sun, and the closer Waterfall that fail to completely distinguish themselves. Thankfully the tracks are all varying degrees of pleasant. As much as I love the first two singles, the only songs on the record I'm not crazy about now are the following two. 

Run To The Moon is a decent track but it's way too on the nose up front with its nostalgic sentimentalities. It doesn't stay that heavy-handed throughout which is a shame because it just gives the whole song this veneer of sheer artificiality right away. The song isn't bad but the verses could have done a lot better to support the hook. The one song on the record I don't like much at all is Seconds which kind of turns me off at the start with its extremely sugary sweet demeanor and though it has moments I think are kind of exciting it might be my least favorite song on the album. 

In massive contrast, the record has two huge highlights which served as the first two singles. Don't Fade Away features great steady drumming that helps lift everything and delivers the song perfectly right into a wonderful rush on the hook. Dare Me is even better and I think it's the record's catchiest moment. I love the sweet little guitar licks and how they bounce between the very front of the mix on the bridge and sneak back during the verses. 

One thing that the record does really well strangely often is transition from verse into hook. Feel So High sounds pretty much exactly like what you'd expect a song called Feel So High on this album to sound like but that doesn't make it any less effective. It's the sunniest song here and the guitar tones wailing away in the background are a wonderful compliment to the acoustic strumming on the lead into the hook. Numb won me over with the way the classically shoegazey guitars just bounce out into the distance. The track also has some of my favorite lyrics on the entire album in particular the entire second verse. 

I'm trying my best not to overthink this one. While not every moment of this record is bursting with originality, some of the defining guitar tones and dreamy atmospheres connect the dots on the record in a satisfying way. There's no better phrase to put it into perspective than saying that Bunny is greater than the sum of its parts. While it sports occasional highlights ultimately it's best consumed as a whole, and if you're alone on a beach somewhere nostalgically watching the sunset that couldn't hurt. 7/10

For more indie check out my review of Panchiko's Failed At Math(s)