The Way Out

Books | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 20, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Temporary Residence
• ASIN: B003O6M3RA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,622 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Over the course of three albums in nearly a decade's time, the Books have grown to become one of modern music's most genuine innovators. The Way Out continues the Books' tradition of meticulous, existential songcraft, infusing the playfully surreal elements of previous albums with a humorous, childlike excitement. Produced and recorded as always in the Books' home studios, The Way Out expands on the charm and intimacy of past endeavors with a deeper emotional resonance and an ever-impressive marriage of seemingly disparate sound worlds.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars it just keeps getting better..., October 9, 2010

By 

Samuel Gentle (New Orleans, LA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Way Out (Audio CD)

When you first heard Kid A, you knew you were listening to something new. Something that nobody else seemed to be doing, but also something that didn't neatly pull or incorporate elements from music you had heard before. When you listen to anything by The Books, you receive a similar experience. Their compositions are not difficult to enjoy, but difficult to imagine conceiving. They stand rather unrivaled in density, complexity, and ability to navigate moods within a niche in which they have little company. On The Way Out, they continue their thoughtful fusion of sampling and original material, maintaining their presence as one of the most imaginative artists around.

Collages can be a rather noncohesive art form. In contrast, it seems as though sampling in music can more easily escape such dangers, as each piece is presented sequentially, allowing each component to be digested individually. In other words the observer isn't blindsided by all the fragments at once since they're introduced and layered one at a time. The dangers that persist are those of disconnection and balance. Can all these parts be assembled in a way that is more than just interesting? Can the listener leave a track feeling something? Although The Books rely heavily on sampling, a distinct voice still glues the pieces together. They are as equally attentive to detail as they are to emotion. There are lines that amuse, such as "I was born with a teacup on my head" on "We Bought the Flood." But there are also tracks that are therapeutic ("All You Need is a Wall") and moments of inspiration ("A Wonderful Phrase By Ghandi"). These moments of transition and sudden buoyancy are what make the album resound.

To someone not intimately familiar with sampling, the precision in production is almost comical. Within 20 seconds of music, there can be anywhere from 3 to 100 elements introduced, yet you're rarely overwhelmed. The Books uncannily weigh and balance the flow and arrangement of variables to make every track sound organic. The frequency of stimulatory changes is similar to that of surfing the internet, making a short attention span no obstacle. However, the aforementioned changes in mood make it an album and not simply a collection of songs. They're also not just composers, but competent musicians. They meld the music, from a drumbeat to a bass line, to the mood of sampled voices in the way individuals score soundtracks to film. The interlocking threads between the samples and original material rarely leave a detectable seam.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something new and wonderful !!, January 22, 2011

By 

KCB (Santa Clara, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Way Out (Audio CD)

I can't write anything more eloquently than the 1st review by Samuel Gentle. :-) But I will say that this is the 1st CD by the Books that I've heard, courtesy a friend of mine. It's fantastically different than anything else I've heard. Easy 5 stars.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Headphone Commute Review, February 8, 2011

By 

Headphone Commute - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Way Out (Audio CD)

Listening to the latest album from The Books is like absorbing a dose of lysergic acid diethylamide, while Ram Dass reads excerpts from a book he never had the time to write. Full of inner depth on the reflection of oneself, and kaleidoscopic hysterical psychedelia, The Way Out is a musical trip through genres, time and space between the microscopic atoms that make up your eyes. Nick Zammuto and Paul De Jong have been producing since their debut, Thought For Food (Tomlab, 2002). After two more albums on Tomlab, a split EP and a collaboration with Prefuse 73, Prefuse 73 reads the Books EP (Warp, 2005), the duo lands a release on none other than Temporary Residence Limited. At times playful, funky, and contemplative, The Books create a collage of found sound, abandoned recordings, and unclassified pieces that retain my listening attention for many consecutive listens. Like an instructional album on becoming awakened in this world of random rules and borrowed ideas, the music by The Books forces the listener to reflect on everything that is absurd around them... and then let one choose his own way out... Can't stop listening to this one. Be sure to also pickup their self released Music for a French Elevator.