Offering some sort of sly commentary (or truism) on looks, the Books’ “Beautiful People” uses vocal clips about math and science to create its vocal textures. It also says something about the electro-acoustic duo that, per usual, they’re able to infuse the ones, zeroes, theorems, and pure abstraction with emotional resonance. The track’s from their forthcoming The Way Out, the first full-length since 2005′s Lost And Safe (though the gap was filled with the Music For A French Elevator And Other Short Format Oddities… EP and Play All DVD). Its Kraut-y drums, closing horns, and Queen-like harmonies add up to a sweet bit of collagist pop.
(Via P4K)
The Way Out is out in July via Temporary Residence. Before that, they’re on the road:
05/08 – Providence, RI @ Nickerson Green
05/10 – Brighton, UK @ Brighton Festival (Komedia)
05/12 – Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute
05/13 – Dublin, Ireland @ The Button Factory
05/15 – Metz, France @ George Pompidou #
05/16 – Brussels, Belgium @ Nuit de Botanique %
05/24 – Berlin, Germany @ Hau 1
05/25 – Leipzig, Germany @ Central Theater
05/27 – Barcelona, Spain @ ATP Primavera
05/28 – Milan, Italy @ Audiovisiva
09/04 – Monticello, NY @ ATP NY
# w/ Aphex Twin
% w/ Avi Buffalo
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*squeeeee*
Just made the connection on the cover art, too. Interesting.
While waiting for the new release by The Books, you could also listen to this brand new release on esc.rec. ( http://www.escrec.com/category/escrec27 ) right now, which a.o. features a beautiful track by Paul de Jong (half of The Books).
These guys never cease to amaze me. While this track may not quite reach the heights of “Take Time,” it has its own magic. The pretension of the spoken elements nearly (but doesn’t quite) belie the unity and understanding of the emotion behind the words. When energy flows from emotion to understanding, the music feels genuine. If it flows the other way, from knowledge to emotion, it’s going to feel phony, heavy-handed, preachy. Thanks to Stereogum for turning me on to this group.