Already an established power pop group, Self goes a step beyond on their fourth album by trading their traditional instruments for toys. And upon first listen, you might not even guess that the band's main axes have been replaced by such hardware as a Playschool Busy Guitar, a Suzuki Omnichord, Micro Jammer Drums, and My First Shaver. In fact, the amped-up production holds its own next to most rock-radio-ready fare you're bound to hear.

Written and performed entirely on toys, "Gizmodgery" can't help but beg comparisons to "Groovy Neighborhood," the seminal album by Pianosaurus. But where Pianosaurus stuck with a small ensemble of acoustic instruments, Self employs a veritable toy store of electronic kids' devices. Voice boxes ripped from stuffed dolls and teaching toys sing to battery-powered guitars and tin cymbals. Backwards toy piano lines and hyper Synsonics drum pads keep things weird among the chirps and blurps of cheap keyboards. Although in interviews the band admits to approaching the album as a kitschy project, Self (much like Pianosaurus) has the chops to pull it off without sounding jokey.

In addition to a long list of toys used in recording this album is a variety of styles. Pop, heavily distorted rawk, and booty-shakin' funk lead the way. Some softer (yet no-less head-nodding) numbers appear too, including a cover of Michael McDonald's "What a Fool Believes," and the prom-theme-ready "Ilovetoloveyourlovemylove." The only drawback of this quirky disc is the amount of expletives; the song "Trunk Fulla Amps" contains 18 alone. Otherwise, it's a satisfying album you'll no doubt find yourself singing along to.