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. ~ James Wilkinson