Circles Looping Circles Again

Psapp “Rear Moth” – This could very well be the most romantic, elegant song in the world to feature the sound of a squeeze toy as punctuation to its rhythm. The singer’s voice is close enough Laetitia Sadier to announce “RIYL: Stereolab, Electrelane, Pram,” but this is more than just a surrogate for the Groop. There is something kind of magical about Psapp’s record that I find difficult to articulate – it has Stereolab’s exociticism and low key sexuality, but also a whimsy that seems somewhat precious and child-like. (Click here to buy it from Insound.)

Empire State Human “Digital City” – The travel brochures for both Digital City and Paradise City claim to have girls who are pretty residing within city limits, but I reckon that the girls in Digital City are a lot cuter. This is a shameless retro-80s pastiche, but it’s solid stuff – if this was actually Duran Duran, it would be my favorite song in their discography. (Click here to visit the official Empire State Human site.)