Beach Fossils - The Other Side of Life: Piano Ballads (2021)

Beach Fossils' dreamy, drifting indie sound progressed from hazy lo-fi recordings in their early phases to the clearer and brighter sound of 2017's Somersault, but never came anywhere near something that resembled jazz. That changes with The Other Side of Life; Piano Ballads, not so much a proper LP as it is a conceptual release that reimagines eight of the band's previously released songs as tender, lovelorn jazz tunes. The recordings were made remotely, with Beach Fossils founder and songwriter Dustin Payseur contributing only vocals atop instrumentals consisting of Henry Kwapis' drums alongside piano, double bass, and saxophone all played by Tommy Gardner. It's notable that although the sessions were assembled from various pieces, The Other Side of Life has the same live, big-room feel as many jazz albums capturing a group playing together in person. In addition, while the arrangements of the songs shift to include more complex chord voicings, extended instrumental sections for saxophone solos, and other jazz inflections, Payseur makes the right decision in sticking with his laid-back and low-energy indie vocal style. Affecting a jazz vocalist style on these songs might feel like Payseur was trying too hard, and his lightly woozy singing works surprisingly well in the jazz ballad approximations of his indie rock tunes. The concept on the whole also sounds better in practice than it looks on paper. Songs from early in the Beach Fossils catalog like "Youth" and "What a Pleasure" float by as piano ballads with just a touch more grace than they had as guitar-centric dream pop. "Sleep Apnea" takes on an almost Satie-like quality when its jangly guitars are translated to stoic piano figures, and tunes from Somersault are slowed down and stripped of some of their pep, rendering "Down the Line" and closing track "That's All for Now" more open, more blue readings of the originals. The Other Side of Life exposes the inherent melancholy of Payseur's songwriting, offering up a pained but lovely side of the band that often gets lost in the rush of drums and guitars.