New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Los Angeles-via-Paris pop voyagers Pearl & The Oysters - the duo of JuliettePearl Davis (Juju) and Joachim Polack (Jojo) - return today with a new song "Side Quest" via Stones Throw.
The song marks a cathartic release for Polack. In an attempt to counter his worry about processing a family illness, together he and Davis channel his feelings into pure jazz-pop joy resulting in some of the happiest chord progressions and melodies the duo has yet to conjure.
In Polack's words, he says, "I thought, this has to be the poppiest thing I'll ever do. I wanted to do that purely as a therapeutic outlet. As it evolved, the lyrics came to embody the expression of estrangement "as we navigate a world that can often feelalien and demented."
"Side Quest" is also accompanied by a music video today directed by Ginger Root-collaborator David M. Gutel and Tayler Nicholson, inspired by the surrealism of Salvador Dalí and René Magritte. The psychedelic video is in turn an exploration of the subconscious mind where reality and fantasy collide in a kaleidoscope of vivid imagery.<
Pearl & The Oysters debuted on Stones Throw with the album Coast 2 Coast last Spring featuring an impressive slate of collaborators including Stereolab's Lætitia Sadier, Riley Geare (Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Caroline Rose, La Luz), Alan Palomo (Neon Indian), Dent May, and Mild High Club's Alex Brettin. Additionally, the duo has released a remix LP featuring Peanut Butter Wolf, Brijean, Salami Rose and more, shared the stage with both TV Girl and Budos Band, and received praise from NPR, Pitchfork ("...synth sounds you can sink your teeth into, gooey guitar licks that stick to the roof of your mouth, and vocal harmonies so syrupy they linger on your tastebuds…"), The Fader, MOJO ("...dreamy space-age exotica…"), BBC 6, KCRW, and CLASH who applaud the band's "deeply lysergic, hallucinogenic pop with a twist of glam." Recently they wrapped up a West Coast tour with stops in Pioneertown, San Francisco, Seattle, and more.
Now based in Los Angeles, the duo first met on their first day of high school in Paris, and have been making music together ever since. The two moved across the Atlantic in 2015 after pursuing musicology degrees at Sorbonne University, with a brief stint in Gainesville, Florida, eventually crash landing in Los Angeles. Stay tuned for much more to come from the musical and life partners later this Summer.
