Coeur de Pirate – Prémonition

“Not every pop song has to be happy, and I’m okay with that.”

Tom: “Pirate Heart”? I’m sceptical.

Tim: Weird name, yes, but you don’t need to be. Tip of the hat to Rob who sent this in; she’s Canadian —

Tom: Who, Rob? Oh, wait, I see what you mean. Never mind.

Tim: — but does most of her singing in French, such as this, where (to give advance warning for the video) she sings about ‘the cycle of toxic relationships’, as she puts it in this interview.

Tim: Not the nicest video in the world, with two people in a horrible relationship but who can’t give each other up.

Tom: It reminded me a lot of Pink’s video for Try — this is a bit less abstract, but as a result it’s more emotionally raw. It’s rare for dance, as an art form, to reach my heart; this managed it.

Tim: Also fairly melancholy is the music and vocals, at least until the chorus comes along, which is curious: it’s there that the lyrics take a downturn, but where the mood of the music gives a hopeful vibe – maybe not wholly upbeat, but it does give a sense of things being better.

Tom: “We’re not going to change” is definitely a downturn, but it’s one that seems to match everything else. Not every pop song has to be happy, and I’m okay with that.

Tim: I don’t know if I’m reading too much into this – all in all, listening to this, I like it a lot. Sure, the lyrics are downbeat, but that chorus is one I can completely and totally get behind. Love it.

Tom: Agreed.