Fredericton experimental artist DenMother (aka Sabarah Pilon) has dropped a brand new, three-track EP in light of everyone’s favourite celebration of love/loneliness; Valentine’s Day. Pilon, inspired by the noise of everyday life and the ticking time bomb we know as emotions, concocts similarly short-lived, auditory imagery of wonder and heartbreak in Love Portion.
Starting off with “Mars Burning,” we feel a deep, celestial, red light encompassing our surroundings. Slow, hypnotic percussion circles the ears as Pilon’s lyrics echo throughout the track.
“’Mars Burning’ is about that insatiable feeling of desire that just wells up within you and you can’t fight it but it’s so frustrating because it just sits there and never develops into anything,” says Pilon.
“You want it to just go away but all you can do is wait for it to pass, which it always eventually does.”
Closely following is “Kittens And Whatever.” The deep light has left us, and we suddenly find ourselves in an enchanting biome with turquoise grass and purple clouds. The slight chiptune synths bounce around and the everpresent, echoey vocals refuse to cede, however subtle.
“Kittens is about a bunch of things really,” says Pilon. “But it’s mainly about putting people or situations above you and then just feeling crummy; it’s not about one type of love I don’t think.”
The last track, “There Was No Good Inside Of Me,” fittingly mirrors the misery that some of us face on Cupid’s holiday. the track begins with a somber synth pad, accompanied yet again by Pilon’s lyrics that seem to lament emotions. Static rain surrounds the track, making us shoulder a bit more of that loneliness with our ears.
“It’s sort of an anti-love album; love in three forms: romantic, plutonic and self,” says Pilon when asked about the intricacies of the album. “I just sort of got annoyed by valentine’s day and those three songs came together in the end.”
Despite this, Pilon remains adamant about positive feelings for all.
“Friendship and companionship are beautiful aspects of life. I’m happy for you sweet couples out there. And I ask that no one really delve too deeply into any of the songs that I concoct, because they’re full of fast passing feelings and the meanings have already changed 100 times.”