Is that a xylophone? The chicken? Who knows?

At first when I saw that NPR's song of the day was featuring a Psapp track, I was a little disappointed. Psapp's "Cosy in the Rocket" is the opening theme song for Grey's Anatomy, and that's brought them a lot of attention. However, after I thought about it, Psapp really isn't very well-known yet, and so I'm okay with this selection.

Wielding Cuteness as a Weapon by Allison Stewart (what's she doing writing SotD?!)

• Song: "Hi"
• Artist: Psapp
• CD: The Only Thing I Ever Wanted
• Genre: Electro-Folk

Toys and mechanical chickens are used as effects, as are kitchen utensils and a pot-bellied oud. There's a weird fascination with cats. In the unlikely event that Dido were to mate with Bjork, Psapp (the "P" is silent) is the likely result.

"Hi" is the disc's most easily digestible song, a shimmery mix of the things Psapp does best: gently insistent, vaguely Brazilian melodies layered over offbeat percussion. (Is that a xylophone? The chicken? Who knows?) Airy and deft, it's the album's most bewitching track, never even threatening to bend under the weight of its own whimsy.

I got a little kick out of that last paragraph too.

The song is available for streaming from the site. Give it a few seconds. It'll go from being weird to being refreshing.

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