Fossil Collective

Having first joined forces inside the Leeds outfit Vib Gyor, South Devon-raised David Fendick and Stockton-on-Tees-born Johnny Hooker watched the group dissolve in 2009. Their departure stemmed from mounting irritation with fellow members who resisted any move toward a more stripped-back sound, even though Vib Gyor’s piercing electro rock had recalled the Killers. The duo therefore launched Fossil Collective, a folk-pop project shaped by Simon & Garfunkel and Bon Iver. Their opening demo, On & On, quickly drew 250,000 YouTube viewers and secured an indie agreement with Dirty Hit. Subsequent support dates alongside Benjamin Francis Leftwich and the Civil Wars, together with the warmly received 2012 EPs Let It Go and On & On, lifted their visibility ahead of a meticulously assembled debut album the next year. Recorded partly inside a church and mastered at Abbey Road, Tell Where I Lie evoked the work of Fleet Foxes, Midlake, and Turin Brakes; backed by Universal, it climbed to number one on the Billboard New Artists Album chart in the United States.