Check It Out: The Books
By Frank Firke on January 28, 2010 in library
As cliché as it is to say this about a band, the Books, whose albums The Lemon of Pink and Lost and Safe are in the record library, are very difficult to classify. They get samples from everywhere, frequently using recordings of people speaking, and set those samples to all sorts of instruments, though there is usually some acoustic guitar in their songs. While there are clear parallels to mid-20th century classical music, they are overwhelmed by the whimsical, relaxed nature of the music. I find that I can't help but enjoy it.
The Lemon of Pink is the stronger of the two albums; a few of the highlights include the gorgeous crescendo of “Take Time” and the syncopated joy of “The Future, Wouldn't That Be Nice?” The best part of the album, though, is what seems to be a musical chronicle of a trip to East Asia, with the joyous and flight-attendant-sampling “Tokyo” being the plane ride and arrival and the time on the ground being “S Is For Evrysing,” parts of which could be on the soundtrack to Hero.
Lost and Safe is, as its title suggests, is not quite as confident or joyous as its predecessor, and its tracks are a little harder to get a handle on, but the basic approach is the same. The album features more original vocals and the instrumentation is spacier, but tracks like “Be Good To Them Always” and “Vogt Dig For Kloppervok” are as good as any in the band's catalog.
At its best, the Books' music induces a state of contentment, and though their samples and near-complete lack of singing makes the music seem distant at times, it's well worth the effort to reach out to these enchantingly original musicians.
Tracks for your enjoyment:
The Books - Tokyo
The Books - To Be Good To Them Always
The Books - Take Time
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