Formed by songwriter, singer, and guitarist Eric Pasquereau—known for his work with Papier Tigre, La Colonie de Vacances, and The Patriotic Sunday—alongside multi-instrumental tightrope walkers Julien Chevalier and Paul Loiseau (La Terre Tremble!!!, Borja Flames), and recently joined by keyboardist and vocalist Elia Guérin (JoGo, Bleu Shinobi), CLAPTRAP have spent the past six years crafting a singular musical language.

Their sound unfolds as a kind of progressive, tropical pop: a wayward post-bossa, warm yet melancholic; a baroque exotica that is at once danceable and experimental. It emerges through an improbable instrumentarium—Mediterranean mandolin, non-orthodox percussion, science-fiction synths, weathered guitars—woven into lush, intricate arrangements that feel both meticulous and on the verge of collapse.

A key figure of the French independent scene, Pasquereau continues here his pursuit of pop pushed to its outer edges. CLAPTRAP’s music is luminous, yes—but with a sun that burns the retina. Between rhythms made for dancing at the edge of the abyss and harmonies stretched to their limits, the band refuses to choose between celebration and collapse. Following their debut album Adulting (2022), widely praised and performed across numerous concerts, CLAPTRAP returns on October 16, 2026 with Second Guessing, mixed by Stéphane Laporte (Forever Pavot, Domotic), released by UNJSQ. Detached yet inhabited vocals, hallucinatory texts, subtle humor, and unexpected references—from murmured Italian to Joe Pesci to Nathalie Imbruglia—fuel a vibrant stream of consciousness.

Drawing equally from grand European composers (Robert Wyatt, Franco Battiato) and Brazilian innovators (Caetano Veloso, Os Mutantes, Tom Zé), while echoing a lineage of baroque indie (Broadcast, Daniel Rossen, Mild High Club), CLAPTRAP stands as a whimsical quartet in search of—and often striking—the perfect pop song.