CD: The Camel's Back
Artist: Psapp
Label: Domino


Reviewed by Monica Miller,
Host of How I Hear It

Listen to samples from Psapp:
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Part Like Waves
Somewhere There Is A Record Of Our Actions
Mister Ant

Perhaps it's the long days and abundance of sunlight, or the garden soil under my fingernails, but I'm in the mood for something a little bit offbeat…a touch of the quirky. Enter Psapp.

One reviewer, grasping for an apt description, came up with this: "…something like Beck, Björk, and Velvet Underground meeting in a lazy Rio cantina only to discover they've all been listening to Stereolab and Nouvelle Vague…"

Based in London (England), Psapp is Galia Durant and Carim Clasmann. Maybe you already know them without knowing you know them: Their song "Cosy in the Rocket" was picked as the theme song for the ABC-TV drama Grey's Anatomy.

You know those indispensable music magazine samplers you hear us talk about all the time? Well, that was my first introduction to PSAPP in 2006 and I was instantly smitten. But, it wasn't until this year, with the North American release of The Camel's Back, that I was finally able to indulge in the crazy world of toytronica, a form of electronica made with toys and toy instruments; a style the duo is sometimes credited with inventing. Psapp's instrument collection now fills two rooms and includes water pipes, a family of Casios and Bontempi organs, several egg slicers and is home to Brunhilde, the famous mechanical chicken. They are also known for their humour on stage, including throwing toy cats (hand-made by the band) into the audience.

A touch of the quirky, with a healthy does of charm and humour…drip a little Psapp into your summer listening.