The Books’ Paul de Jong will release a new solo album in the coming weeks charmingly titled You Fucken Sucker. We’ve already heard the LP’s twee-adjacent title track and lead single “It’s Only About Sex.”

Today, we’re premiering Paul de Jong’s latest. It’s a song called “Johnny No Cash,” and it shows off the dexterity of You Fucken Sucker. This single runs for a super-short minute and 45-seconds, and it opens with a rolling drumbeat that recalls the soundtrack to a western. The vocals sound-off to Tom Waits, all gravelly and worn down. De Jong shared some thoughts on “Johnny No Cash”:

“I’m an anchor with no ship, a lash without a whip, a toll without a bell, a curse without a spell”
It started with a few lines of an unfinishable poem and became the ‘one more song’ I needed to shut You Fucken Sucker up for good. A song about self-pity as an art, or disembodied self-pity. And if such a thing didn’t exist yet, it does now. In the process I’m experiencing that unless I sing at a very high pitch or extremely low I find listening to my own voice quite unbearable. But that’s more about self-hate, and I’ll deal with that in yet another song.

Listen to “Johnny No Cash” below.

Tour Dates:
3/24 Brooklyn, NY @ Issue Project Room
4/13 Hudson, NY @ Time And Space Limited
4/18 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle

You Fucken Sucker is out 4/6 on Temporary Residence.