Thought for Food (Remastered)

Imagine an alternate universe where sonic collages are hit songs. It’s easy to picture the Books — the duo of singer/guitarist Nick Zammuto and cellist Paul De Jong and their arsenal of audio samples — inhabiting that place. Their very 21st-century music is certainly experimental, but it’s also accessible, often funny, and can be gorgeous, too. In 2011, Temporary Residence Limited released a re-mastered version of the Books’ 2002 debut, Thought for Food. The album is an early example of folktronica, a genre that challenges notions of what electronica can be: acoustic instrumental timbres are favored and prescribed notions of ambience are ignored. The opener, “Enjoy Your Worries, You May Never Have Them Again,” immediately brings the listener into the Books’ weird world. The slips and slides of acoustic guitar playing and earthy fiddling are highlighted, spoken word elements are put to inventive use, and hisses and other details are strategically deployed. The result makes sense in a nonsensical, surrealist sort of way. But this carefully constructed album isn’t about any one track; ideally it should be taken in and savored in its entirety.