Although the South Devon, U.K.-raised David Fendick and Stockton-on-Tees-born Johnny Hooker originally began making music together as part of the Leeds act Vib Gyor, by 2009 that group had disbanded and the duo began work on their own brand of folk-pop under the moniker Fossil Collective. While Vib Gyor’s piercing electro rock echoed that of the Killers, the pair became increasingly frustrated with their bandmates’ unwillingness to take a more stripped back approach.

Betraying influences such as Simon & Garfunkel and Bon Iver, the first Fossil Collective demo — On & On — soon found 250,000 viewers on YouTube and led to an indie deal with the Dirty Hit label. Support slots with acts such as Benjamin Francis Leftwich and the Civil Wars — in addition to the very well-received 2012 EPs Let It Go and On & On — helped to raise their profile before their carefully crafted debut album appeared the following year. Partly recorded in a church and mastered at Abbey Road, Tell Where I Lie nodded to material by Fleet Foxes, Midlake, and Turin Brakes and, with backing from Universal, reached number one in the Billboard “New Artists Album” chart in the US.

Fossil Collective is available for corporate events, private shows, milestone celebrations (birthday, anniversary), fundraisers, festivals, and more.