Beach Fossils – Roadhouse, Manchester 15/05/13

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“Listen, we’re all jetlagged as shit. Who wants to fucking party?”

On record, the blissed-out nature of Beach Fossils’ surf-pop sound can, at times, almost trick you into thinking that they might be, by their nature, a little placid; just a couple of songs into their set tonight, they’re clearly eager to dispel that notion. That, or they’re just trying to prove they’re as adept at rabble-rousing as their Captured Tracks labelmate, Mac DeMarco.

As the band whir into the eponymous opener from February’s Clash the Truth, frontman Dustin Payseur – who, for all intents and purposes, pretty much is Beach Fossils – announces his arrival by diving headfirst into the crowd. After wrapping touring commitments for the What a Pleasure EP in 2011, Payseur was faced with having to put together a new lineup to back him onstage, with the previous group having gone their separate ways to pursue individual projects; the most notable of those was former live guitarist Zachary Cole Smith, now making waves with DIIV.

The new band’s approach mirrors that of Payseur’s on Clash the Truth; everything’s faster, sharper and considerably more urgent, with a selection of tracks new and old relayed in blistering fashion. On ‘Shallow’, they channel the harmonic stylings of fellow Captured Tracksmen Wild Nothing, but infuse them with the kind of energy and buzz that make Beach Fossils a considerably more compelling live proposition. The studio version of ‘Birthday’ is a tight guitar-pop number that manages to sound both bouncy and reflective; onstage, it borders on punk, manifesting itself in a much rawer manner.

Most of Clash the Truth‘s more restrained efforts are left by the wayside tonight; the quieter, calmer likes of ‘Sleep Apnea’ or ‘In Vertigo’ were never really likely to displace the fizzing ‘Caustic Cross’ or ‘Generational Synthetic’ as part of a set that is designed to accommodate and accentuate the more frenetic side of the Beach Fossils catalogue. Which leads me to the only real problem with that approach; it doesn’t really allow for the simple weaving in and out of older cuts from the self-titled debut, which is largely characterised by a mellower, more laidback sound, which doesn’t always fit with the often furious nature of Clash the Truth.

‘The Horse’ and ‘Vacation’ are already perfectly chirpy pop songs, and they didn’t really need – nor do they benefit from – any alteration in tempo. Conversely, ‘Youth’ and EP cut ‘Calyer’ are relayed far more faithfully, which begs the question of whether it might’ve been a smarter idea to structure the setlist such that older material could’ve been eased in, rather than awkwardly shoehorned.

It’s difficult, though, to deny that the band’s energy levels throughout their hour or so on stage are pretty arresting, and certainly do justice to Payseur’s vision on the latest LP. If sweaty, frantic live shows are crucial to the direction in which he wants to take Beach Fossils, we should be grateful that he’s capable of pulling them off with such aplomb.