Hometown: Paris.
The lineup: Ulysse Cottin (lead guitar, vocals), Armand Penicaut (rhythm guitar).
The background: If there’s a New Band of the Week leitmotif, it’s catchiness. Whether it’s Rumer or Odd Future, hooks – that ability to engage in some way with the general public – are a given. Some might leave you impressed but cold. For example, even though they weren’t necessarily our thing, we could see the appeal of Ed Sheeran’s early adventures in b(l)eat-boxing, and we wildly guessed, based on her old-fashioned but grandly passionate balladry, that Adele might amount to something. All these musicians knew – know – how to construct a tune that sticks. Today’s duo seem to have mastered the dark art of infectious songcraft. Sorry if we keep writing about bands prioritising jazzy melodicism and rapturous slickness. We promise we’ll do one mired in hoary rock tradition soon.
Actually, this Parisian pair grew up enjoying “the whole revival rock scene: Jack White, the Strokes, the Libertines”. According to Armand Penicaut, who obviously has low expectations when it comes to deities, “Pete Doherty was some kind of an Elvis to me”. His partner, Ulysse Cottin, was drawn to “mainly the jazz and rock’n’roll singers – they gave me this desire to use my craziness and my energy in a musical way. People like James Brown, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald”. They share, too, a love of Brazilian music and bossa nova, of “old folk, like Elizabeth Cotton or Karen Dalton”, and of gypsy jazz.
Ann Wants to Dance – one of several Papooz tracks that insinuates its way into your brain and stays there – was the result of Penicaut trying out the finger-picking folk guitar technique. Then he sat down with his friend and his other half and the idea occurred to him, as it would anyone, “Ann wants to dance”. At which point he thought: “Man, what a great title for a song.” A year later, it’s had 2.25m YouTube views. “I don’t think I can handle the amount of hipster in this video ,” quipped one commenter. We don’t think we can handle this much catchy. It might have been born out of folk but the rhythm has the casual funkiness of something created in Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-70s. Then there’s the breeziness of the vocal. Who’s that girl? “It’s me,” Penicaut laughs. “No, it’s not treated. I just sing high.”
Trampoline – accompanied by a video directed by Daniel Brereton (Connan Mockasin, Metronomy) – is propelled by a gorgeous, bright tropical guitar figure and has a finger-clicking cuteness that some might find hard to stomach. Papooz deny any familiarity, but the song reminds us of the more melodic strain of 1980s UK “alternative” music, when Everything But the Girl and Orange Juice started citing more exotic sources than the usual garage bands (the only old Brit indie outfit they’ve heard of are the Stone Roses, although they’re huge fans of the Velvets). It’s almost too irresistible, verging on Guilty Pleasures territory.
For clues as to what Papooz bring to the party, compare and contrast Simply Are, all choppy guitar and Papooz’s percussive sighs, with the Arto Lindsay original. In their hands it assumes a weightlessness, a ravishing breathiness, that Lindsay’s only hinted at. Then there’s Louise – formerly known as My Girl Looks Like David Bowie – in which the protagonist has “the Station to Station sign written on both of her arms”. It’s an acoustic number, and beware: the songs on their SoundCloud are more Simon and Garfunkel than Steely Dan. You need Spotify and the stuff from their 2016 debut album Green Juice, which is more luscious, layered and poppy.
“We started as a lo-fi band,” explains Penicaut. “We recorded where we could, with Ulysse in his bedroom in Paris, with a couple of cheap acoustic guitars, ukuleles and synths.”
“Ulysse and I share the same Anglo-Saxon side – we have rock’n’roll hearts,” he adds, in case you wondered. “The real characteristic of our live music is that it’s really energetic and generous. We’re sweating on our guitars, we’re dancing and having fun. But in the studio, Ulysse is more of a producer. He really loves working out how all those 70s Stevie Wonder albums were made.”
What are Papooz songs about? “They used to be about love and not finding love,” he replies, his Anglo-Saxon side coming out. “When you’re fucked cos it’s not gonna work. Nowadays, though, we want to focus more on characters. I’m a big fan of Randy Newman, the guy who write Short People – maybe cos I’m short. He can write about a murderer and make you feel for him. It’s really interesting to build a song about a strong character. Make it cinematographic.
“It’s like Frank Sinatra said: songs should be like three-minute movies,” he says. “You should make people travel.”
The buzz: “Papooz are rhythmic, poppy, interested in exoticism and the warm colours of bossa nova”
The truth: They’re infectious – in a good way.
Most likely to: Slay you with their choruses.
Least likely to: Commit murder.
What to buy: Green Juice is available on Spotify. Papooz play in Paris at Trianon on 20 April.
File next to: Orange Juice, Prefab Sprout, Everything But The Girl, Phoenix.
Ones to watch: Menage A Trois, Park Hotel, Stevie Parker, Paul Stephan, Monkoora.
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