Psapp develops cheerful morbidity with The Camel's Back

The group's third album further evolves the duo's playful sounds.

By Rachel Post

Published Feb. 26, 2009

A London-based alternative duo that utilizes sounds such as a cat's meowing, crushed leaves and burning bugs might sound far too eccentric for anyone's taste. But Psapp (pronounced "sap") has characteristically managed to turn their taste for unique sounds -- called toytronica -- into their third accessibly charming album.

Carim Clasmann and Galia Durant met after Clasmann moved from Germany to London in the late '90s. Their love for toytronica and cats united the pair. (They apparently have a cat named "The cat with no name" which wandered into their house one day.)

Currently, Psapp has two rooms full of instruments, including water pipes, egg slicers and a mechanical chicken. Though they utilize such toys, it's the foundations of strings, drums, acoustic guitar, piano and keyboard that make Psapp's music so accessible.

Psapp attracted a fan base in the U.S. when "Cosy In the Rocket," a more pop-influenced song than their other work, became the theme for "Grey's Anatomy" when it first aired in 2005.

The duo's first album, Tiger My Friend, released in 2004, showcases Psapp's knack for experimentation. The Only Thing I Ever Wanted, released in 2006, is a cleaner, more refined version of Psapp, though it still maintains their knack for effective experimentation.

Their third and most recent album, The Camel's Back displays Psapp's ability to continue to evolve. Unlike their former albums, The Camel's Back has less electronic sounds, which gives it a more pristine sound but still uses toytronica in a way no other group can.

The opening song, "I Want That" is cleverly playful lyrically and musically. The use of saxophone perfectly complements Durant's deep, sultry voice.

"I Want That" is more high-energy than most of Psapp's previous work, but on this album they develop a talent for faster, more fun songs. It's an opening comparable to "Hi," from The Only Thing I Ever Wanted, but more refined and jazzy.

Next, "Part Like Waves" opens with fantastic use of strings that gives the song an intense mood, different from "I Want That," though still excellent. Lyrically, the song is inventive and playful. "Piece me together out of the things that you see/I'm a log, I'm a boat, I'm a book, I'm a rope, I'm a tree/I follow you blindly and bursting with hope and then/Under the bridge and then out in the light again," Durant sings.

"The Monster Song," Psapp's first single in the U.K. (they have not yet released a single in the U.S.) displays Psapp's tendency to maintain a cheery sound musically while maintaining a sense of morbidity lyrically. Durant sings, "Oh, I can hear it as it comes/And it wants to taste my blood/We're already lost, my love/We'll never be the same."

Similarly, "Somewhere There Is a Record of Our Actions" possesses a cheery posture musically, but includes deep, scratchy harmonies as well, resulting in the perfect combination of despair and cheer complementing wistfully woeful lyrics. "I know you never meant to hurt/It's just the way you string your words together," Durant sings about an ended relationship.

With The Camel's Back, Psapp has further refined their use of unique sounds and their ability to produce cheerfully morbid music. Their sound is like nothing you've heard before.