Belgian band Scratch Pet Land was discovered by Air's Nicolas Godin (presumably a stage in his quest to prove to the world that French-speaking pop musicians don't have to sound like Patrick Bruel!) and seems to take a preliminary cue from Air's fun-loving, electronic sound. However, rather than heading straight for the disco, Scratch Pet Land's music is gently experimental in nature. While still pushing the boundaries of traditional song structure and instrumentation, it is playful rather than confrontational. I'm constantly reminded of the Residents as I listen to Solo Soli IIIII. Perhaps it's the quirky, loping nature of the music or maybe it's just the Jew's harps and wood blocks, but musically there is definitely some kinship there. Scratch Pet Land is exclusively instrumental, though, and less overblown.

Solo Soli IIIII is the type of record that you'll want to listen to several times before deciding what you think of it. Each session will reveal new nuance and subtlety. The members of Scratch Pet Land are deft masters of the Atari/turntable/bongo/ukelele aesthetic and their songs are strange little jewels. A brilliant bleep here and a virtuosic blip there make for hours of gently off-kilter fun.

Take the opening track, "Mrmime", for example. It sports an almost African melodic figure, backed with what sounds like a duck. It's like some twisted deconstruction of Paul Simon's Graceland! Or how about "Escargot Couleurs?" For about a minute it sounds like something you might hear in a supermarket, and then it turns into buzzy robot music. Still not getting the picture? "Crol and Sun Ok Papi K.o. Crossfader Speak" should be retitled "Wind Chimes and Shards of Broken Glass go to the Beach with Robert Moog."

If you're at all interested in envelope-pushing, no matter how gentle, Scratch Pet Land is a great place to visit. But if you don't like mixing experimentation with your art, you should probably stay away!