Cœur de Pirate releases new album: Impossible à aimer
By Julieanne Acosta, November 25 2012—
As a student who grew up in French immersion, Béatrice Martin — better known for her stage name, Cœur de Pirate — was a staple in all my French classes. The Canadian singer-songwriter is a native of Montréal and sings mostly in French. Her third album, Roses, was one of the first French albums I truly enjoyed.
Earlier this year, Martin underwent vocal chord surgery and temporarily was unable to sing. At this time, she still managed to release an album. Perséides was announced and released on the same day and was a fully instrumental album. In this album, the listener is really able to grasp Martin’s love and intimacy with music. Ultimately, less than six months later, Martin released her newest album.
On Oct. 15, Cœur de Pirate released Impossible à aimer as a testament to the comments she had received about how she must be hard to love. The album contains beautiful melodies and incredible production quality, no short of what she has released in the past.
The songs on the album show her ability to make her listeners feel the way she feels with her music — which is saying a lot since I haven’t taken a single French class since 12th grade.
My personal favourite of the album is a three-way tie between “Le Pacifique,” “On s’aimera toujours” and “Tu ne seras jamais là,”
While “Le Pacifique” and “On s’aimera toujours” begin on strong notes with the instrumental and immediately reels the listener in, “Tu ne seras jamais la” begins softly with a beautiful piano feature from Alexandra Stréliski — a composer and pianist based in Québec.
“Le Pacifique” — with its catchy chorus and instrumental — combine for a truly unforgettable song. The chorus’ lyrics “Je t’attendrai là bas/ Sur les rives, morte de froid/ Dans l’espoir que j’ai partagé/ Avec moi seule pour constater/ Que tu ne m’atteins pas/ Et c’est comme tous ces pas/ Que le sable pourra effacer” describes a love filled with waiting, and inputting imagery of freezing to death if need be. The passion through the song is easily heard and eloquently spoken.
Some songs, such as “On s’aimera toujours” describe a lasting love. The beginning instrumental is intensified with its use of strings and upbeat tone. The lyrics in the chorus describe the feeling “Et je sens mon cœur s’étendre/ Quand mes yeux se fondent au vert des tiens” where Martin shows her vulnerable side, writing that her heart expands when she sees her lover’s eyes. Though these two songs sound very dance-pop, their lyrics are well-spoken and lyrical.
“Tu ne seras jamais là” however, has a calm instrumental accompanied with hard-hitting lyrics such as “Mais quand le vent s’élève je t’entends/ Tu existes au loin, ça fige le temps/ Et si tu prenais l’air comme avant?/ Mais quand tu partiras au large essaie de rester loin de moi.” Here, she describes her lover’s voice lingering in the air and she urges him to stay away. The song to me was the most heartfelt and hit me harder than the rest.
Overall, the album does a great job of taking intense lyrics and transforming them into light-hearted pop songs. After everything Martin has done throughout her career, I am continually impressed by the music she puts up — only continuing to raise the bar from her previous releases.