Oysters, Pearls, music to dream about and a French duo: is there a better set? Certainly not. Stay with the sensual Pearl & The Oysters and their latest work, Flowerland.
FLOWERLAND
One, two, three… twenty. Yes, twenty. We count about twenty releases full of music. September’s sexiest duo is made up of Joachim Polack and Juliette Davis. From instrument to instrument, out of the box idea to out of the box idea, we have what it takes to dream in every corner of our lives with the music they make.
They met in high school, in the always charming city of Paris and share a true love for artists and bands as diverse as Burt Bacharach, Pixies, Chico Buarque or The Zombies.
The style of music is necessarily influenced by the love of the bands mentioned above, but the style goes beyond this: space-age pop bands from the 50s and beyond, with special attention to bands like Stereolab or The Beach Boys, in the album, Love You
In 2020, with a lot of world adventure to the mix, they moved to Los Angeles. From Europe to America they bring their third studio album (after Canned Music (2018) and Pearl & The Oysters (2017)), Flowerland.
We are presented with fourteen songs. Ready to collect these beautiful pearls? This journey opens with “Soft Science”, in collaboration with Tseng Kuo Hung. We feel a tremendous Moullinex vibe during his Elsewhere phase, mixed with Australians Tame Impala. The electronic dream-pop beat is so beautiful that we just want to dream.
For those returning from holiday, “Treasure Island” sounds like the perfect soundtrack for those who want to survive the storm of returning to the city routine without getting into ultimate stress from the very first minute. We’ve got a heavenly beat, half electro, half pop, accompanied by an angelic voice that promises to definitely leave us melting.
When we were younger, there was a game called Crocodile, where the objective was to take care of the reptile’s teeth while they were removed by the children. There was always a naughty tooth – and whoever removed it, lost the game. In the “Crocodile” theme, we have the teeth, thankfully, all in place. And the rockier rhythm makes us think of what The Strokes would be like on stage with the Madrid Hinds. It’s so perfect that it went straight into our setlist as one of the songs of the year.
The song that gives the album its name, “Flowerland”, is a hymn to joy and peace. We sound repetitive, but it’s extraordinary how smooth and dignified the French duo bring out the best in us with each passing song. The guitars, bass keys and voice are in such a pure symbiosis that we always seem to be in sync with the nature that surrounds us.
With “Evening Sun” we see the sun setting beautifully in front of us, and the beginning couldn’t be more melancholic: piano and a harmonious voice. But suddenly the rhythm grows. And grows, grows to a point of psychedelic rock that makes us sweat our soul.
The album closes with “Flamingo Sketches”, with a spiritual touch to the mix where we fell asleep with a dream of those incredible deep ones. The energy goes flickering before us – and we don’t want to wake up from this journey.
There are no better pearls on the market than Polack and Davis’ duo. They’ll morph over the course of 14 pearls, but there’s something that is always spot on in what they do: the dream is real, and they’re our soundtrack of choice for this journey. A WtMM recommendation.
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