Psapp – Tiger My Friend – Leaf Label
Reviewed by Peter 12-14-2004
FCC Clean
I can’t say I’m too discerning when it comes to deciding what makes music like this good, but I thoroughly enjoyed the album. Rhythms are cool and often stutter, similar to Aphex Twin’s. Her voice is quite good – strong and melodic. She uses creative electronic sounds in very elegant, unobtrusive and supportive ways – nothing feels forced or simply decorative. There’s a surprising amount of variety on many of the tracks. Plus, many of the lyrics are quite good. All of the tracks are worthy of airplay; I didn’t star the middle tracks b/c they’re not quite as strong, but that might have been an effect of listening to a lot of electronica in one sitting. (5’s pretty good, for example)
2-4 are great songs that vary nicely. 8-11 also take the album in different directions focusing on the instrumentation, vocals and electronics in different ways. Check everything out!
All time references = time remaining
1. (0:31) – Sounds of water, birds, children’s voices in the distant. Soothing.
2. * (3:56) – Steady, upbeat, mid-tempo song with very pretty vocals. Starts with a distinctly world sound – pipes, eclectic percussion. Adds strings halfway. Rubber ducky! (Rock on Psapp) 1 min. outro like intro w/ strings and “Aaaummm” singing.
3. * (4:13) Electronic foundation, but sparsely, tastefully done in a fun way. Song about lost love. Aphex Twin rhythms and even hints in the vocal patterns. String melody at the end.
4. * (4:22) Up-beat and melodic with pretty, layered vocals (sounding like Dido?) singing some very solid lyrics, tinged with sadness. Still elegant use of electronics.
5. (3:49) Music-box sound with static murmurs and bells. Very distant, light vocals underneath the music. Melody becomes more electronic/substantial at 2:50, vocals come to foreground at 2:26 with more solid lyrics. Background sounds are more mechanical.
6. (3:42) Starts with stuttering electronic melody and mousy squeaks. These squeaks last throughout and become pretty amusing. I can’t tell if I like the lyrics or not – I’m not sure I do. :45 – much quieter – pulsing, jungle noises.
7. (5:45) Electronic intro gives way to electronically stuttered acoustic guitar that provides the song’s foundation. Funky electronic shuffle at 3:45. Cool percussion work as well.
8. * (4:10) Starts with music-box sound and pretty female background vocals reminiscent of Jem’s. Nice, simple string work provides substance along with later electronic melody. Nice hand-drum percussion line.
9. * (3:51) Talking at first. Slow, simple piano melody at 3:20 with soulful/emotive vocals. Nice lyrics. Simple, not much electronics except for light supporting bells. Song winds down over last minute. Talking again at :25 after piano stops.
10. * (2:40) Down-tempo, but song still moves with rock feel. Very cool rock intro that remains with much of the song. Deeper vocals still work, lyrics not bad. Song is repetitive, but short enough that this is not a problem. Most variety in the last 30s.
11. *(4:03) Titular track starts with similar acoustic, picked string-instrument. This continues throughout the song with some very cool parts. “Doo-doo” vocals harmonies to 3:06 when she begins to sing. These resume throughout the song, with male vocals added at 1:20. Good lyrics. Chirping, quacking, water, and other electronically-modified natural sounds set natural theme. Silence at :47 gradually resumes with very quiet shuffling, whispering and water-noises that crescendo back to an audible level. It never gets too loud, though, so feel free to raise the levels to get more sound.