Pomplamoose
Besides

The fact is that we villans…
We villans…
And we must always be cheerful
because our crying hurts the king
hurts the rich and the cardinal
they become sad if we weep

The Pomplamoose, a distortion of pamplemousse, French for grapefruit, are a Californian electro-acoustic duo of Adult Alternative Pop Rock.

They formed in 2008 with the artistic collaboration of multi-instrumentalist Jack Conte and singer Nataly Dawn, who were students at Stanford University when they listened to Steve Jobs' speech.

They self-produce their work. They specialize more in covers than in original songs and have the enormous merit of making damnably tacky songs pleasant, if not irresistible, like “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham or even “Telephone” by Lady Gaga (the dance popper who loves to perform wearing fresh steak jackets). It is therefore customary for Pomplamoose to give their renditions what can be called the “Marie De Salle effect.” Remember the movie adaptation of “High Fidelity”? The “singer” Marie De Salle turned Frampton's hateful and sugary “Uh, Baby I love Your Way” into an enchanting, moving song, captivating and delighting Rob and his delivery friends. Here, however, the exultation becomes an illogical joy.

They have authored various albums, all sold only in digital format. At least mention “Tribute to Famous People,” “Season 2,” and “Besides.”

Nataly Dawn, who paints in addition to singing, has also recorded a solo album, all unreleased, “How I Knew Her,” lyrical and intimate Folk pop, and shares the dreamy-acoustic project My Terrible Friend with Laureen O’Connel (worth listening to at least their lazy and seductive cover of the Bee Gees’ “I Started a Joke”).

Conte, for his part, with some madness and quite a bit of talent, traits that are somewhat similar, loves to explore genres like Synth Pop, Indie Pop, Alt Rock, Fusion, and contemporary R&B. He applies himself to keyboards, pianos, xylophones, guitars, programmable and organic percussion, etc., weaving clear and playful textures, with an immediate presence audio effect. A retro and modern sound at the same time, which, in addition to flair, boasts order, decorum, contained urgency, rational audacity, and imagination.

However, it is Nataly’s singing that constitutes the duo's Archimedean point. Within it, you find: angelic impassivity, formal beauty, sensual indolence, Leslie Feist, Regina Spector, smooth velvet, upright posture, cheerful youth, a hint of affectation that doesn’t hurt and makes her a “Foxy Lady.”

The videos they post on YouTube, depicting them in multiple frames while singing and playing, respond to the axiomatic injunction “what you hear is what you see and what you see is what you hear.” Tertium non datur. The “Videosong” is somewhat their favorite expressive channel. They usually reinterpret pop rock classics (like “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire, “Come Together” by the Beatles, or “Video Killed The Radio Star” by the Buggles) in an original way, from new perspectives, even elevating the dismal mainstream of the 2000s (Pharrell Williams, Bruno Mars, Beyoncé), through continuous subtractions, small additions, and frequent mashups. Music that embodies the child within us: always “Walking On Sunshine,” never “Walking On The Moon.” Adjectives? Bold, light-hearted, dreamy, playful, passionate, sunny, flattering. Hyperactive? Full of verve.

They record and mix everything themselves, untainted by producers and record labels. They pay royalties for the covers and try to finance themselves with crowdfunding and the pay-what-you-want formula. With weakness, they seem to somewhat defeat arrogance.

But where do these Pomplamoose come from?

The two, born in the mid-80s, evidently grew up on Coca-Cola, marshmallows, diners, Julie Andrews, yes to Nick Hornby - no to Lester Bangs, yes to Hemingway - no to Kerouac, on the methodological pragmatism of Peirce and utilitarianism of William James, on Mickey Mouse and Matt Groening, on Irving Berlin and Casio keyboards, James Brown and Billy Joel, Chordettes and Beatles, Michael Jackson and Madonna, then all of the Techno Pop and much New Romantic. In short, nerds, young people with great futures and pasts of colossal humiliations.

And, metaphorically speaking, what are they like?

They are the car air conditioner on a cold and damp November day. You start quickly, feeling uncomfortable, chilled. Then finally the warmth, then the heat that envelops you, while the surrounding scenery idles in the fog through the windshield. And, on your way to work, you inexplicably cheer up. And you feel good "like someone who dreams.”

So, in summary, they are OK and there's always something to be happy about with them. They have a certain something, their unique nature. They are happily themselves and only themselves. A dual uniqueness, a single “B-side.”

“Besides,” from 2015, is an album where Electro Indie prevails over the acoustic/unplugged sector. All the findings/songs are small, pleasant adventures like “I Feel Good” by James Brown and “Come Together” by the Beatles or the “Steve Wonder-Herbie Hancock Mashup” that unifies “Superstition,” by the former, with "Watermelon Man" and “Chameleon,” by the latter. “Like a Million,” on the other hand, an original track, seems like the encounter of the most epic Brit Pop with Bontempi keyboards at a birthday party.

In short… familiar, but not amateurish, professional, but not overproduced, vintage sound, quick, striking, direct, never saturated, never afflicted by self-pity, somewhat exuberant, with the added bonus of a mermaid or nymph’s singing. Gentle beauty, modest and, in its own way, hieratic. Emotionally at least.

Recommended for everyone. For the solitary spirit and the family.

The Pomplamoose, it’s now evident, will leave you in a state of sober intoxication.