Not since Cibo Matto have we been so captivated by a band of gourmets like
The Books. A self-proclaimed "food band," the duo have been tickling
our collective palates since 2002's brilliant Thought For Food, a surprisingly
melodic clash of folk and absurdist sound collage that wound up at No. 4
on our year-end list. Its follow-up, 2003's The Lemon of Pink, turned out
to be even better, landing at No. 2 on Pitchfork's year-end list. Now granted,
the Books aren't cute Japanese women, and maybe they don't hang with the
Beastie Boys or Sean Lennon (at least, that we know of), but for Pete's
sake, they reference Godard films in their songs! And who doesn't like Godard?
Well, anyway, they're pretty fucking good.
Late in the 04, The Books finished their latest full-length, Lost and Safe,
which has been set for an April 5 release on Tomlab. Featuring artwork by
Frieda Luczak (who also worked on the first two Books albums), Lost and
Safe will also showcase the vocals of guitarist Nick Zammuto, as well as
some non-musical sources of note, such as tuned drain pipes and an office
filing cabinet installed with subwoofers. Upon hearing this piece of information,
certain individuals at the Pitchfork office have been experimenting with
listening to music modified by miscellaneous household appliances. We found
that Peaches sounds much better from under a porcelain toilet seat than
you'd imagine. Especially if you're in another room.
Another piece of exciting news is that shortly following the release of
Lost and Safe, the Books take to the road for their first-ever tour. The
fun should start in May, and we'll get you the dates as soon as we can get
our hot little hands on them.
Books News
Publication: Pitchfork Media