“A lovely piece of front-parlour theatre, scripted by aliens, cast with shadows and accompanied by angels.” That’s what we said about ‘The Only Thing I Ever Wanted’ and since the continuity between albums is so demonstrably smooth and even, it seems an unnecessary expense to try and think of anything different. If your nearest and dearest got you a WH Smith voucher last Christmas and intends to repeat that same generosity this year, then why not get her in return exactly the same thing that made her so happy last year. At least that’s the philosophy here. Even if it’s complicated by the fact that ‘Tiger, My Friend’ is actually the band’s Groenland debut re-packaged and re-presented by Arctic Monkeys/Franz Ferdinand label, Domino Records. So if you’re looking for trouble, it’s a chicken and egg thing tied-up in an ever-decreasing circle of worms holes, time-slips and parallel dimensions: ‘sometimes when we’re walking, oh I like the way we weave/circles looping circles again’, purrs mouthpiece Galia Durant and she’s not talking nonsense (much).
Basically if you liked the clutterbox skiffle magic of sophomore album, ‘The Only Thing I Ever Wanted’, then you’ll like this. It’s cute, it’s cuddly and it’s every bit as soft, skittish and surreal as the hand-made cats the band throws out to the audience during shows. And what kind of materials will you need to make your own soft, cuddly Psapp friend? Well provided you have an adult to help you and a pair of rounded scissors, the average Psapp Kit it includes pre-cut plush felt, embroidery floss, needle, ribbon, stuffing, and complete easy to follow instructions. That’s in addition to the squeaky duck noises, the typewriter chatter, the multi-purpose static, the cat samples, the beercans, the sizzling sausages and an assortment of plucked piano strings and humming devices. Simply sew the seams together using the overstitch. Then add eyes, nose and mouth.
Of course it’s experimental; the audacious minefield of unexpected noises are testament to that, but as with ‘The Only Thing I Ever Wanted’, ‘Tiger, My Friend’ builds it’s magic Toy-Shop on a firm compositional basis. They’re not songs as many of us would knew them, but like unruly children; they do occasionally obey the rules. For all their deranged activity and poor coordination tracks like ‘Leaving In Coffins’, ‘Calm Down’ and ‘Curuncula’ boast the same curvaceous wistfulness and ambient honey-spots as Everything But The Girl, Imogen Heap, Björk. And Röyskopp but with yards of additional string; the off-kilter samples and bottle-sounds warmly supported by a range of acoustic props including guitar and violin.
No fearful symmetry or dread feet. But not backward in coming forward either.