Fossil Collective – Honey Slides EP
Rising from the ashes of Vib Gyor , and promising a new direction, Fossil Collective (re)launch their career with Honey Slides. Now stripped back to singer, writer David Fendick and drummer Jonny Hooker the Leeds based duo present a debut EP that sounds surprisingly rich and full. Indeed, the lead track, ‘On and On’ sounds like it could have been a Vib Gyor song. No change of direction here. ‘On and on’ has what I call a kind of laid back urgency. In many ways it is reminiscent of Radiohead with something like ‘There There’ not least of which in the video, which is all animated, woodland creature fare. Fendick croons like the other Yorke brother, Andy, of Unbelievable Truth fame and the whole song earns a big fat tick.
Second track, ‘Without a Fight’ offers the first glimpse of the aforementioned new direction. The emphasis is distinctly more American. Vocal harmonies and slide guitar give the whole thing a countrified Beatles vibe. Good song.
The EP closes with the bizarrely titled ‘When Frank became an Orb’. This one is a hushed, hymnal continuation of the more folk, acoustic, alt-country path hinted at by its predecessor. My overall impression is that of a decent, more than solid start. If a potential full album matched the standard of these EP tracks all the ingredients are in place for something well-worth hearing. Less anthemic than Vib Gyor but with ‘On and On’, Fossil Collective prove they haven’t lost their ability to write hooks.
Fossil Collective in First Glances