Sometimes artists make music to avoid seeking help. For Sally Folk (born Sophia d’Aragon Krim), however, it was during the course of therapy she started after a family tragedy that she found the inspiration for her fifth album, Ô Psychologue. “I see this album as a return to my roots,” the Montreal singer tells Apple Music. “It has that very introspective tone that I’d moved away from. I needed sensitivity and vulnerability. The sarcasm and irony are still there, but I talk more than ever about my faults.” The title track, which came out in late 2019, was followed a year later by a series of humorous video clips in which Folk confides in a therapist (played by comedian Laurent Paquin) and takes obvious pleasure in playing the role of someone who is manipulative and seductive. “Obviously, my image has been carefully thought out, but I’m hesitant to describe Sally Folk as a character—in fact, the word annoys me. For me, she’s more an alter ego representing one facet of my personality.” Here, she reveals more about those different sides of herself as she talks through all of Ô Psychologue’s tracks. Le regard des hommes “I consider myself a people pleaser. I like to make everyone around me happy. But if you think too much about pleasing others, you end up forgetting about yourself, and that’s how you find yourself on the slippery slope toward anxiety and depression. When I sing, ‘Avoir le cœur libre hors du regard des hommes’ [‘To feel freehearted, away from the eyes of men’], I’m talking about the importance of listening to your inner voice and forgetting about what others think of you.” Les clés “The reason I went to therapy was because I lost my baby after six months of pregnancy. This perinatal bereavement was a real slap in the face. Right away, I recognized the symptoms of anxiety and sensed I was in danger, so I sought help. The song could be about a boyfriend, but when I say ‘bébé,’ I’m clearly talking about my child. I didn’t want the whole album to relate to this topic, but the grief became such a huge part of my life that I couldn’t not talk about it. And I wanted one song to be specifically dedicated to Élisabeth.” Que diable m’emporte “I talk a lot about the desire to be seen and heard on this album. Being ignored by someone you love is like ceasing to exist. It’s a song that goes back a while, but to me it seemed different from the rest, and I found it belonged here because there’s something very vulnerable about it. I usually want to appear strong, but here I basically say that I’m fragile, that I could fall apart if the other person ignores me.” Pot de miel “The idea of the honey pot was suggested by my therapist, but the line in the refrain is from my grandfather, who’d often say, ‘You never dip your finger just the once in a pot of honey.’ It’s a way of saying that when you give in to temptation, there’s a good chance you’ll give in again, that the person who cheats on the other once is likely to do so again. My musical partner, Michel Dagenais, came up with the idea of the guitar and slightly alternative rock side, because he wanted the track to stand out. It’s got a cinematic, grandiose feel to it.” Le règne “It’s a song about my ego, and I composed it in a way that makes it seem like it’s talking about a toxic relationship. In fact, I’m talking about my ego as if my ego is a psychologically abusive spouse. We can allow a partner to control us by putting us down and telling us we’re worthless, but we can also let our ego tell us the same thing, which is what happened to me. I like the fact that there are two ways of interpreting it. People will be able to identify with it however they want.” Attendu pour souper “It talks about irreconcilable differences in a relationship. It was inspired by one I was in with someone who was homosexual but refused to admit it to himself. It addresses denial, obviously, but also the expectations you have of someone that you continue to harbor even though they’ll never be fulfilled. I don’t know if he finally came out; I should go and check his Facebook page!” Les amourettes “I felt like going back to basics, to find that lightness and ’60s sound I’d sort of put aside on [2017’s] 3e acte. The song is about meaningless relationships, where you give too much power to the other person. When I showed it to Michel, it was just a rough draft, and all I said to him was that I could already picture myself in the video, wearing a minidress. He got me right away and offered me this arrangement.” Ô Psychologue “This is the track that acted as a catalyst for the entire project. When I started recording, I told Michel I felt like something a bit electro, sort of ’80s style. But that was before the pandemic. Because we had a lot of time to rework the songs, it changed and took on more of a ’60s quality, which means it’s in good company alongside a track like ‘Les amourettes.’” Mea Culpa “Another one that touches on drama—it’s about an explosive relationship. It’s kind of a reply to my [2015] track ‘Les heures de visite,’ where I talk about a relationship with a boyfriend who’s in prison. This time, it’s me who gets jailed for having pushed the drama too far. I’m not as bad as I used to be, but I can still be a real drama queen. I know I’ve got it in me, so it’s the sort of feeling I prefer to put into song, because it’s a lot easier to manage than in real life!” Dix plutôt qu’une “As artists, we get a lot of criticism, and I know that’s the kind of thing that can hurt me—even drive me crazy. Well-intentioned criticism is fine, but when it takes place in a romantic relationship or with the media, it can be damaging. It’s a form of control over the other person and it can drive you mad. The idea behind the reggae vibe was to make it stand out from the rest. It actually came about because of a challenge from my agent, who wanted me to do a ska tune for him. And since I’m a proud person, I said yes right away, even though we ended up slowing down the rhythm slightly.” À nu “I almost put this one second, but in the end, I thought it would be the perfect way to round out an album that’s about a quest for authenticity. People have spoken to me a lot about the Sally Folk ‘character’ in the past few years, and I started to think I was being reproached for not being genuine, which is exactly the opposite of who I am: I never do anything that goes against my core values. And if there’s one thing you learn in therapy, it’s that to truly receive love, you have to agree to lay yourself bare. It’s the ultimate form of authenticity.”