Before you go running for the hills screaming, “What is Pomplamoose! Is it contagious? Is it delicious? Does it cause Cancer?,” let me assure you that Pomplamoose is harmless and appears to be having a great deal of fun in San Francisco.

It is contagious. It is delicious. And while it doesn’t appear to be causing anyone any severe Cancer, there can be no doubt that it is most certainly addictive.

That said, I will tell you everything you need to know about Pomplamoose before I share with you where to get real authentic Pomplamoose. (Unfortunately, I can’t share this information just yet, for fear of losing your audience forever!)

Pomplemoose Are Two People Who Make Music

Nataly Dawn and Jack Conte write and record great pop music. In the case of the latter, they also have a penchant (and talent) for recording cover versions of past and present popular songs they have admiration for.

Nataly sings all of the lead vocals (and most of the back-up vocals, sometimes having her vocals octopl-tracked, but we’ll get to that later), plays the majority of bass parts, whistles (albeit poorly), and God knows what else. She is also fluent—and on rare occasions likes to write and sing—in French.

Jack seems to be musically capable of doing pretty much anything but most often can be seen playing guitar, twinkling on his 120-year old upright piano, banging away on the drums, adding percussion, singling back-up vocals, or even adding a counter-melody via a professional toy piano or xylophone.

While I haven’t truly deciphered who is writing the core material, my hunch is that it’s very much a collaborative effort. As far as I can tell, Nataly and Jack adore one another.

Pomplamoose Have a Credo

Specifically, "What you see is what you hear. (No lip-syncing for instruments or voice), If you hear it, at some point you see it. (No hidden sounds.)" This refers to their main form of expression and distribution; the music video, which they have updated, refashioned and molded into something they call, "VideoSongs."

The somewhat confusing credo above happens to be what distinguishes a "VideoSong" from the olde-fashioned music video you (or your parents) grew up with in the 80's. To perhaps put it more simply, Jack and Nataly literally VIDEOTAPE the creation of every single note in the process of recording their music. This allows them in the end (I would assume towards the end of the mixing and mastering process), to edit a video which is completely "live" and in sync with the recorded audio. Still confused?

To simplify further, when you see Nataly singing on camera, you are also hearing her sing the identical take on the record. If you hear Nataly singing three-part harmony behind the lead vocal, you'll see three additional little Natalys singing next to her on screen in what often visually resembles a musical comic book (which judging by their taste in t-shirts, seems to be a medium they have affection for) or the opening credits to The Brady Bunch. When you see Jack sitting at that antique upright piano whose exposed hammers are visibly dancing right in front of his face, you are hearing that exact performance on tape. When you see Nataly and Jack sitting on the floor, Indian-style playing "Pattycake," a microphone is present, capturing the "performance" for the percussion track.

With all due respect (I believe to Jack, who—if the dateline serves me well—created the VideoSong concept), I think the term "RealityMusic," (i.e. reality TV meets music) describes their form of expression better than "VideoSong." The down-to-earth, wholesome demeanor of Nataly and Jack, plus their favoring of acoustic and analog timbres in their music, lends them a very homegrown feel which also bolsters the "reality music" vibe.

Pomplamoose Will Make You Dance

I'm not talking to the chicks out there who dance all of the time. I talking to the macho men out there... oh, and the music snobs (I'm sometimes guilty of the latter); the ones that normally wouldn't be caught dead dancing or are more comfortable in the realm of playing air-this or air-that, or simply nodding their collective heads. You will dance. Worse yet, you may even spend hours dancing in front of YouT... oops, I almost slipped and told you!

Pomplamoose will also make you laugh heartily at times and often have you smiling ear-to-ear. If for some reason, you have absolutely no interest in feeling happiness, you should avoid Pomplamoose at all costs.

(If you're discovering Pomplamoose for the first time)
Pomplamoose is the Best New Show of the Fall Season!

Often at the tail of their VideoSongs, you'll be treated to Jack and Nataly sharing a little bit of themselves by addressing the viewer directly or through a bit of behind the scenes footage. Whether they are trying to sell you a super-soft t-shirt, telling you about an cool new record by an artist they admire, plugging an "upcoming" gig which in reality already happened a year ago and 2,000 miles away... you will watch them.

The more you indulge in Pomplamoose, the more Pomplamoose you will crave. The chemistry between Jack and Nataly (and partially as a result, the chemistry they share with their audience) is infectious. The more you watch them, the more you'll regard them as friends... or at least, you'll wish you were. In addition to the reason above, this phenomenon can also be attributed to the intimate status with which they bestow upon their audience as a fly-on-the-wall during their creative process. While there is nothing overtly sexual in any of their VideoSongs, one can easily be reminded of how William Hurt gushed to Holly Hunter about their own collaboration in the 1987 film Broadcast News, "It was like... GREAT SEX!"

Jack and Nataly are having so much fun doing what they're doing, that you can't help but subconsciously place yourself in their shoes. You want to have the fun you see them having on camera, and as a result and a testament to the power of the imagination, you suddenly find that you are. My wife likes repeating funny things I say because she says, "It's fun saying funny things." Don't be surprised if upon repeated viewings or listenings, you find yourself mimicking what you've seenPomplamoose do on camera. It's fun doing fun things.

Whether they're joking with one another, or engaging the camera directly, the interaction between Nataly and Jack is delectable. As Lucy is to Dezi, as Edith to Archie, plus a dash of how Bruce Willis' "David" was to Cybill Sheppard's "Maddie"... Nataly and Jack have "It." Up until the recent night when I discovered Pomplamoose for the first time, I had probably never spent more than twenty straight minutes on YouT... damn, I almost gave it away again! Soon, I promise. I know your mouth is watering.

Pomplamoose Just Might Be Revolutionary

As far as I can tell, Pomplamoose have come up with what is perhaps a new genre or even a new form of media. They have also in the process, tapped into the very life-blood on the new musical economy and zeitgeist, perfectly fusing music, video, the internet and reality TV into something truly unique and original. They have already collaborated with the occasional special guest, Ben Folds (through whom I owe my discovery of Pomplamoose) and Earth, Wind and Fire's Allee Willis.

My guess is that very soon, you will see other artists flock to Jack and Nataly to receive thePomplamoose production treatment. I also think they will serve as an inspiration for many young artists from all disciplines. It wouldn't surprise me in the least to one day find them occupying the throne previously occupied by Prince, Jam & Lewis, The Dust Brothers, as the producers du jour. It would certainly be a refreshing turn from the current artificiality that tends to dominate the pop charts.

Pomplamoose is Free!

Please don't run away from me just yet, but Pomplamoose share themselves for free on YouTube. Currently, they have close to 40 VideoSongs available for your immediate consumption, almost half of which are originals. Some of the cover versions are better than others, and your preference there will most likely be driven by your like or dislike of the original composition.

When "Pomplamoosing" the songs of their contemporary peers—such as the case in their remake of Beyoncé's "Single Ladies"—they seem to always best the original hit version. (They have also recorded music, videos and VideoSongs as solo artists, so once you've engorged yourself on Pomplamoose, you can continue to snack on their solo endeavors, or Nataly's project with another singer-songwriter, Lauren O'Connell called, My Terrible Friend.)

If you want to take Pomplamoose on the go (you will), their music is easily and affordably available at traditional online music outlets.

That said, I will now offer a four-song introduction to the art of Pomplamoose; three originals and the aforementioned Beyoncé cover. Once you've digested these, you can head over to YouTube, to dip into the rest of their oeuvre on their own channel. I have a hunch you will.

Don't say I didn't warn you....

[Edited 7/4/11 11:54am]

Pomplamoose made that Beyonce song listenable... i'm a fan.

Mdizzles said:

i didnt know about them till a year or so ago... came across that "Single Ladies" Cover and thought that it was better than any thing Beyonce had ever done (Then again i've never cared for Beyonce. ). I played that cover vid like every other day. lol. But i havent seen any of their vids lately. Now may be the time.

Mdizzles said:

i didnt know about them till a year or so ago... came across that "Single Ladies" Cover and thought that it was better than any thing Beyonce had ever done (Then again i've never cared for Beyonce. ). I played that cover vid like every other day. lol. But i havent seen any of their vids lately. Now may be the time.

Yeah, they just came out with a new "single" on YouTube. All of their stuff is exceptionally good.