Paul De Jong - If (Black Vinyl)

Paul De Jong - If (Black Vinyl)Paul de Jong is best known as the cofounder, cellist and resident found sound savant of the beloved, defunct collage pop duo, the Books. Five years after that band delivered their final album, The Way Out, to much acclaim, de Jong delivers his first solo album. IF sets the Books' early albums (particularly The Lemon of Pink) as a starting point, and elevates that beguiling sense of wonder and amazement to genuinely transcendent new heights. De Jong's

recorded in a very particular moment

'Twoism' is one of the most sought after records of recent years

but also an evolution of these sometimes disparate musical strands wound tightly around propulsive rhythmic grids

Holter vividly processes the complexity

Soraya's smooth and soulful tones prove to be the perfect addition and act as a kind of sexy ghost in the Buscrates machine

particularly artists from the 60's and 70's

Fujita often plays the vibraphone with a violin or cello bow

and carefully planned change intended to evoke specific effects

maintaining an atmosphere of spontaneity and accident (along with the background sounds of chirping crickets) alongside the increased attention to composition in many of the pieces

the drums are aggressive

Spit and jitter in a revelatory stance

working to weave ideas into solid threads