53. The Books - Lost and Safe (2005)

I thought that I might have liked this record more in 2005 than I do now, however having listened back to it, it remains an entrancing and enjoyable listen. There is a lot about this record that I want to dislike; the slightly smug cleverness of it, the middle class American indie stench, the fact that it's so well put together and obsessively arranged that there should be no room left for human feeling.
Disappointingly, it's really good. 

The Books are the NYC duo of Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong, they do what has been described as folktronica, although that's a pretty poor description. It's a kind of understated, polite balladry, a bit Paul Simon like in tone, talk singing, over seemingly very clever lyrics (they're both very highly educated chaps you know), which are actually meaningless, and a tad pretentious (an under rated quality in music). This, their 3rd release put these minor key spoken word melodies to esoteric samples taken from second hand record finds, mostly spoken word poets (Jabberwocky & Betjemin are included), artists, field recordings, often played alongside Zammuto sing talking the samples as they play. De Jong plays cello adding a Nick Drakeish feel to the songs. Percussion is sampled clicks and pops, often used as punctuation to enhance the spoken word.
This album came during the peak of the US indie revival aided by All Tomorrows Parties festivals, and The Books performed at there to ecstatic crowds, Lost and Safe was also used frequently as a warm up tape between acts. Live The Books could perform a perfect rendition of the records, timed alongside videos created for each track. Seen once this was mighty impressive, seen twice I was left feeling a little sterile and cold.
The indie summer now seems like a time of prosperity, and I doubt that there remains a thirst for this type of record. Echos of Boards of Canada, Herbert, Beck and The Avalanches can be heard in the unusual sample references, whilst the wordplay and eccentric concepts remind of Brian Eno's early stuff. The way that such an unassuming record which reveals it's melodies and secrets which each successive listen, could be so popular, is down the good taste of the mid 00's ATP generation led by groups such as Animal Collective who's own songs ebb and flow and build in a similar manner to The Books.