Pearl & The Oysters
The whimsical French pop-loving band Pearl & the Oysters moved from France to Florida to California; wherever Joachim Polack and Juliette Davis might end up their endearingly retro, sweetly sentimental songs and sound is likely to follow. Using a kitchen sink's worth of instruments, calling in sympathetic musicians, and showing off a very light melodic sensibility, the band's first two albums are breezy and delightful space age pop. 2021's Flowerland was the last record, fittingly nostalgic and summery, made before they decamped to California, where they picked right up woith the even breezier-sounding Coast 2 Coast in 2023.
The duo met in high school in Paris and bonded over a love of Burt Bacharach and the Pixies. Polack had been playing in bands for a few years already, and Davis had been plotting a future as a singer since she was a toddler. They attended Université Paris-Sorbonne and began working on a sound that was equally influenced by classic French Pop of the '60s, space age pop of the '50s (and its revival in the '90s by bands like Stereolab), and the inspired simplicity of Love You-era Beach Boys. At the same time, the duo were on their way to earning Master's degrees in musicology. While living in Paris they began recording their first album, but midway through they moved to Gainesville, Florida so Polack could attend the University of Florida to study Brazilian music at a doctoral level. They finished the record, titled Pearl & the Oysters, in Florida and released it in September of 2017. It wasn't long before they started working on a second record, this time recording at four different home studios in more far-flung locales like Italy and France. Along the way, they overdubbed contributions from a variety of musicians including Vulfpeck guitarist Cory Wong, Carlos Valderrama of Fitness Forever, and Alex Brettin of Mild High Club. The finished album shared a similarly upbeat attitude and breezy pop feel as their debut, but added some fuller arrangements. 2018's Canned Music was released jointly by Burger Records and Requiem for a Twister.
The duo's third album, 2021's Flowerland, is a slightly more subdued take on the bubbly pop of previous efforts with lyrics that delve more deeply into personal issues and serve as a farewell to Florida, which they left in favor of Los Angeles. Helping out on the record is a large cast of collaborators that includes Dent May, sitarist Ami Dang, members of the Florida band Edmonson, Kuo-Hung Tseng from Sunset Rollercoaster, Jules Crommelin of Parcels, and multi-instrumentalist Fay Lovsky. The album was mixed by Shags Chamberlain and released in September of 2021 on Feeltrip Records. Now living in L.A., the duo called on a mostly different set of collaborators for 2023's Coast 2 Coast, a typically sweet and fizzy pop record with just a touch of anxiety about the state of the world hovering around the edges. On board to help Polack and Davis create their smmoth cocktail of retro sounds are old hands Alex Brettin and Dent May, as well as newbies Laetitia Sadier, Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Riley Geare, and Alan Palomo of Neon Indian. Also, Davis' jazz musician father dropped by to add some vibraphone., The finished product was issued by the band's new label home Stones Throw in April of 2023.
© Tim Sendra /TiVo
Discography
18 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Coast 2 Coast
Alternative & Indie - Released by Stones Throw Records on 21 Apr 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Pacific Ave
Alternative & Indie - Released by Stones Throw Records on 2 Nov 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Time Flies When You're Having Fun
Alternative & Indie - Released by carpark on 7 Mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Flowerland
Alternative & Indie - Released by Tip Top Recordings on 3 Sep 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Coast 2 Coast Remixes
Alternative & Indie - Released by Stones Throw Records on 8 Dec 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Konami
Alternative & Indie - Released by Stones Throw Records on 31 Jan 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sonhando Com Nosso Amor (feat. Biche)
Pop - Released by Feeltrip Records on 15 Jun 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Read the Room (feat. Laetitia Sadier)
Pearl & The Oysters, Laetitia Sadier
Pop/Rock - Released by Stones Throw Records on 28 Mar 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fireflies (Vicky Farewell Remix)
Pearl & The Oysters, Vicky Farewell
Alternative & Indie - Released by Stones Throw Records on 6 Sep 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Evening Sun
Alternative & Indie - Released by Tip Top Recordings on 12 Aug 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Treasure Island
Alternative & Indie - Released by Tip Top Recordings on 8 Jun 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Loading Screen (Salami Rose Joe Louis Remix)
Pearl & The Oysters, Salami Rose Joe Louis
Electronic - Released by Stones Throw Records on 20 Oct 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Konami (Jerry Paper Remix)
Pearl & The Oysters, Jerry Paper
Alternative & Indie - Released by Stones Throw Records on 8 Nov 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paraiso
Alternative & Indie - Released by Stones Throw Records on 28 Feb 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Soft Science (feat. Kuo)
Pearl & The Oysters, Tseng Kuo Hung
Alternative & Indie - Released by Tip Top Recordings on 7 Jul 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo