UJNSQ-059

CLAPTRAP presents Second Guessing, a second album of tropical, danceable and experimental pop. The band is led by songwriter, singer and guitarist Eric Pasquereau — best known for his work with Papier Tigre, La Colonie de Vacances and The Patriotic Sunday — alongside multi-instrumentalists and sonic tightrope walkers Julien Chevalier and Paul Loiseau (also active in La Terre Tremble!!! and Borja Flames), recently joined by keyboardist and vocalist Elia Guérin (JoGo, Bleu Shinobi). For more than six years, CLAPTRAP has been exploring the boundaries of inventive orchestral pop, driven as much by melodic songwriting as by a constant taste for sonic experimentation.

→ Releases October 16, 2026

Their music unfolds as a form of progressive, tropical pop: a ramshackle post-bossa that is warm, melancholic and slightly unhinged; a baroque exotica that is danceable, experimental and richly textured. It takes shape through an unlikely instrumentation — Mediterranean mandolin, non-orthodox percussion, science-fiction synthesizers, guitars and instruments on their last legs — weaving lush arrangements that are both meticulously crafted and perpetually on the verge of collapse. With Second Guessing, CLAPTRAP continues its exploration of pop music pushed to its limits. The album is undeniably sunny, but it is the kind of sun that burns the retina. Caught between rhythms made for dancing at the edge of the abyss and harmonies charged with tension, the band refuses to choose between celebration and downfall. Following their debut album Adulting (2022 - UJNSQ), acclaimed by critics and supported by an extensive run of live performances, CLAPTRAP returns in October 2026 with Second Guessing, mixed by Stéphane Laporte (Forever Pavot, Domotic).

Detached yet deeply inhabited vocals, hallucinatory lyrics, understated humour and unexpected references — from muttered Italian phrases to Joe Pesci and Natalie Imbruglia — feed a vibrant stream of consciousness. Drawing equally from the grand European songcraft of Robert Wyatt and Franco Battiato, the Brazilian inventiveness of Caetano Veloso, Os Mutantes and Tom Zé, and the baroque indie tradition of Broadcast, Daniel Rossen and Mild High Club, CLAPTRAP emerges as an eccentric quartet in pursuit of the perfect pop song.

The cover artwork for Second Guessing features an original painting by artist Geoffroy Pithon, taken from Botanique Murmure, a series of watercolours later collected in a book published by FP&CF. The series explores Pithon’s fascination with miniature, ultra-vegetal landscapes — imaginary natural worlds teeming with life, where, as always in his work, colour leads the way and shapes emerge from it.

CLAPTRAP IS JULIEN CHEVALIER, ÉLIA GUÉRIN, PAUL LOISEAU & ÉRIC PASQUEREAU /  RECORDED BY MANU LAFFEACH — CHAUDELANDE / MIXED BY STÉPHANE LAPORTE / MASTERED BY BRICE KARTMANN / COVER PAINTINGS BY GEOFFROY PITHON / DESIGN BY UJSNQ - Un je-ne-sais-quoi 2026 - UJNSQ-059