I am of the opinion that when you are not privy to the meaning of a language you begin to fixate on the sounds and formation of the words. In the case of a foreign language within music, the inability to interpret causes the listener to view the voice as an instrument as opposed to a medium for a message. Ponteix’s J’orage (which loosely translates to “I storm”) functions in this way for non-francophones. As a mixed language EP, English lyrics open and close the album, while the tracks between are performed in French. The shift between languages is smooth as the delivery of the lyrics hardly changes. The EP is upbeat, and it works in a pinch. I enjoy its indie rock roots but don’t think I’ll come back to it time and time again like I do with Half Moon Run, who also hail from Montreal.
This EP is at its heart indie pop. Indie because of its dreamy, echoey composition, but pop because it doesn’t connect with you in the way other genres might. It’s diverse within its genre, venturing from the surf rock vibes of “Chasing the Sun” through the psychedelic pop of the title track “J’orage.” The final track, “Ghosts,” gets a little grungier, but only as grungy as pop could ever get.
The album captures the right sounds to hook you in and hold you down regardless of any language barrier. It’s a tight little EP and it shows that the next full-length release from Ponteix has a lot of potential.
