I started the day with The Books' Lost and Safe. Is there a such thing as a rustic electronica album? If it were possible, then The Books would fit the bill. Recording live acoustic instrumentation with cellos, violas and the like, they then take what was put to tape and cobble it together with finger snaps, hand claps, odd little stuttery beats and scratches along with samples of dialogue from various far-reaching sources. I had actually heard an earlier album of theirs, Thought For Food, which while exhibiting some of the same traits, did not have near as prominent vocals as this album. The vocals have an almost deadpan quality to them that allows them to blend in with the surrounding warmth of the music.
Lyrics Born is part of the Quannum Projects collective that is also home to such excellent hip-hop artists as Blackalicious (whose Gift of Gab makes an appearance on this album) as well as Lateef the Truthspeaker (also on here). Lyrics Born, while a good if not great lyricist, really shows his skills as a producer on this album. The backing tracks are full of exuberant, funk and soul infused music that matches his relaxed and down to earth vocal style, which has a certain dexterity to it as well. The only thing I can fault this album with is the comparatively large number of skits and jokey tracks thrown in the mix.
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