REVIEW: 'Saisons' by Pomme
Accompanying the concept of changing seasons are visuals of evolution, flux, and transformation. Transitioning from warmth to frigidity is not always synonymous with beauty, as this annual pattern of change inevitably represents challenges, growth, ups, and downs. Lyricising these patterns in her newest album 'Saisons' Pomme personifies both the beauty and the melancholy of change – whether it be welcomed or not.
Each of Pomme's songs is named after a month and divided into four chapters, and each serves to guide the listener through Pomme's experience of the seasons.
First arousing the feeling of spring, Pomme begins the album with March ("_mar le temps des fleurs"). In her lyrics, she illustrates images of migration—bidding her goodbyes to birds as they "envoler vers le nord" (fly to the north). She welcomes the influx of spring, musing, "c'est le temps des fleurs" (it's flower time).
Opening the windows to the warmth of the summer quarter of her album, Pomme's lyrics in '_jun perseides' reminisce on her romantic experiences, emblematic of the summer months. She sings: “Pendant l'été où je t'ai rencontré par magie/…C'est là qu'on s'est aimé pour la première fois" (During the summer when I met you by magic/…This is where we first fell in love". Embracing winds of nostalgia, she muses that this summer of romance turned "her sky" into "paradise" ("je m'allongeais et le ciel se faisait paradis) as she was "born again" ("je suis née encore") through love.
"_sept magie mauve" (feat. Flavien Berger) sees Pomme reflecting on the change fall brings. Melodically and rhythmically, Pomme chants, "C'est beau, dehors/C'est beau, dehors/C'est beau" ("It's beautiful outside/It's beautiful outside/It's beautiful") in active appreciation of autumn.
Closing out the lyrical works of her album is "_jan carte de noël", a song rife with the feelings of frigidity represented by the month of January. While Pomme earlier mused on her first experiences of love with warmth, her lyrics are now coated in a depth of emotion: "J'oublie ta voix (boule de neige que les larmes ont formé/J'ai pas le choix" ("I forget your voice (snowball that tears formed)/I don't have the choice".
In the instrumental outro to Saisons, "_feb carte de noël", Pomme ties together feelings of winter listlessness through slow melodies with notes that evoke the sounds of spring – chirping birds, blooming flowers, and an overall awakening of the senses in an accurate display of the inspiring, well-rounded artistry present throughout her album.
Now tagging onto Pomme's impressive repertoire is filmmaking and acting; in her first of a series of nine-minute films, 'hiver' (winter), Pomme is first seen playing the piano alone to the first song of her album's winter trilogy, "_dec carte de noël". In front of a dark backdrop, Pomme sits at a desk in front of a snow globe as she muses: "Qu'est ce que tu feras cette année?/…Je sais que tu ne répondras pas/…Est-ce quelqu'un m'a remplacée?” ("What will you do this year?/…I know you won't answer/…Has someone replaced me?"). As a seemingly infinite stream of letters falls through the frame around her, she chooses one – labeled "Saisons" – as she contemplates pushing the letter through the slot of a lone mailbox. Shots of Pomme paused in reflection are interlaced with dynamic frames of a masked figure traipsing through a wintery landscape alongside Pomme as the score transitions to "_jan carte de noël". While sledding and warming themselves by fire, Pomme and the masked figure experience happiness, tension, and anger, as Pomme ultimately decides to push the envelope through the mailbox – queuing the beginning notes of "_feb carte de noël" and the last melodies of her winter saga.
A rarity, Pomme's talent extends far beyond music. Her ability to think and execute creative works is evident in her newest album, 'Saisons', and the short films accompanying her work. Taking you into her world, Pomme provides the listener with a magical surrealism that is nearly tangible through both lyrics and visuals. Relatable in her lyrical ability to evoke familiar feelings of lust, detachment, appreciation, and melancholy, Pomme seems to sing directly to the listener, reminding us all that while the sensation of change is permanent, all feelings are temporary – as is every saison.
Written by Kayleigh Schweiker