Beach Fossils – Somersault

Beach Fossils’ sound is so sweet that it can struggle to stand out....
Beach Fossils : Somersault
6.7 Bayonet
2017 

Beach Fossils : Somersault

Beach Fossils’ sound is so sweet that it can struggle to stand out. Like a nice breeze or screensaver, one can forget that it’s there, even while enjoying it. New record Somersault trades in some of the neo-eighties fuzz of 2014’s Clash the Truth (QRO review) for seventies natural sounds, but still is more background music than a gripping journey.

From opener “This Year” to closer “That’s All For Now”, Somersault is sweet, relaxed, and never not nice enough. There are some pieces that add a little more weight and pressure to make something more, such as “Down the Line”, but also a few that really slip into forgettable, like “May 1st”. “Saint Ivy” stands out for what sounds like an out-and-out seventies flute solo; meanwhile, “Rise” has the random soul spoken word from Cities Aviv.

While a stylistic change to degrees, Somersault is still very much Beach Fossils: a sweet background.

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