Pearl & the Oysters Video Premiere

Pearl & the Oysters

They call themselves “a joyous society of galactic gleaners,” but with “Lake Alice,” Gainesville, Florida’s Pearl & the Oysters have trained their sonic telescope on a spot near their earthly home. Lake Alice is a tiny wildlife preserve on the University of Florida campus, and in this official video premiere, presented by PureHoney, it appears in grainy, home-movie hues as a touchstone — a place where people coming of age bond with friends and create memories that will console (or maybe haunt) them in years to come.

The visual portrait is a composite, with video taken in multiple locations in and outside of Florida. The endearing track is from the self-titled debut full-length released in September of 2017 by this society of two: Juliette Pearl Davis on vocals and trumpet, and Joachim Polack on everything else. The album pays wide-ranging homage — from “Switched-On Bach” creator Wendy Carlos to the surf-rock inversions of the Pixies to the space-age sonic fluency of Stereolab.   

On “Lake Alice,” Davis’ willowy voice is enclosed in a lo-fi envelope of gently warped filtration as she weaves through clusters of synth, power chords and dainty robotic percussion. In this lush and sometimes thorny setting, “Lake Alice” becomes a dreamscape and an intriguing puzzle. We hope you enjoy the immersive trip, and remember to check out Pearl & the Oysters on March 1 at the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival in Okeechobee, Florida.
~ Sean Piccoli for PureHoney Magazine