The Books: The Way Out

Label: Temporary Residence

Now this is a welcome return — the Books with their first proper album in more than five years! The Way Out will sound familiar to old fans; like all of the duo's recorded work, the only genre this mix of pop, folk and electronics fits into is just "music." There is a stronger electronic presence in that some songs actually sound like electronic music, such as the IDM-nodding "I Am Who I Am" and the heavily processed "I Didn't Know That." But the Books' specialty remains electronic songs that sound like analog experiments, scotch-tape splicery that's only incidentally been constructed on computer. "Group Autogenics I" uses (like much of the album) vocal samples from self-help and hypno-whateva tapes to add a heavy coating of mesmer to a typically brilliant and Booksish jigsaw-puzzle of sounds; "Thirty Incoming" proceeds at a medium gallop, with guitar, strings and choral parts flying alongside like passing scenery. Still, The Way Out's best pop moment is easily "All You Need Is a Wall," gorgeously sung and strummed by Nick Zammuto while Bookmate Paul De Jong ebbs and flows an ocean of textures. (M.L. Thrope)