about
A few deep breaths after finishing their acclaimed record "The Lemon of Pink", The Books set out to make their third album, "Lost and Safe". Still based in North Adams, MA, The Books moved their studio across town from a freezing cold pantry in a ramshackle tenement into a moderately sized bedroom in the attic of a historic victorian, heat included. A big step up, indeed. They busied themselves buying up unmarked audio tapes at Salvation Armies across the east coast, expanding their notorious library of found sounds and samples to truly absurd proportions. Along with The Books' mainstay cello, guitar, mandolin and banjo, which all make appearances in "Lost and Safe", they also invested in a few new instruments to play with, most notably: a set of tuned plastic drain pipes, a cheap metal filing cabinet with subwoofers installed in it, and a vintage Hohner clavinet, which they salvaged from a Dutch basement and restored to funkiness. Also, Nick taught himself how to sing, more or less, and Paul forged ahead in building an impressive library of found video and fonts that will be a feature of their first live tour in May, 2005. A synaesthetic quality pervades "Lost and Safe" as it explores new territory within the collage based production style set forth by its two predecessors. It is a song based album, conceived of as a whole, that weaves found voices and original lyrics together with a constantly shifting instrumentation that defies classification. Ancient texts cross-pollinate readymade vocals while sticks and stones excite the resonant frequencies of bendy straws and altered furniture. Inside-out cellos harmonize with slow-motion ring tones:
