PSAPP (pronounced "Sap") are Carim Clasmann and Galia Durant. The band claims to own a veritable junk shop heaven of arcane musical instruments and 'sound emitters' that range from gleaming pianos and instruments and pot-bellied ouds to children's xylophones, dusty retro guitars, farmyard noise-makers, mechanical ashtrays and squeaky rubber poultry. It is this collection of instruments that have led to critics heralding the band as being the pioneers of a new genre - which has been dubbed 'toytronica'.

The Camel's Back is the band's fourth studio album, following on from Northdown (2004), Tiger, My Friend (2004) and The Only Thing I Ever Wanted (2006).

Listening to the tracks on this album it's easy to see where the term 'toytronica' is derived from. Several tracks (in particular 'Fix it', 'Mister Ant' and the instrumental tracks 'Marshrat' and 'Homicide') sound like you've walked into the middle of a strange old fashioned toy shop. This wonderful fusion of children's toys and clockwork contraptions is bound to evoke childhood memories - as everyone is bound to recognise at least a couple of the instruments used here.

I couldn't help be reminded of the late Kirsty Macoll and The Cardigans - in particular segments of 'Part Like Waves' and 'Screws' sound very Macoll-esque. Likewise the title track 'The Camel's Back' and 'Somewhere There is a Record of our Actions' brought back memories of the Cardigans's Life album.

There's a nice mix of both the bizarre and instant hit material. It's pretty easy to spot the tracks that will be released as singles to appeal to the masses. These include, I'd hazard a guess, 'The Monster Song' (which is to be released as a single on 03 November 2008), 'Somewhere There is a Record of our Actions', 'Fix it' and 'Mister Ant'.

There wasn't a single track on the album I didn't like - which is a rarity these days. This is an album that is well worth searching out.

9

Darren Rea