Books On Tape
Throw Down Your Laptops
Deathbomb Arc
Books On Tape – a.k.a. Todd Books – recorded his punky electro live in studio, sometimes aided by guest musicians, and have released it without doctoring the tapes through computers later on. A hardcore lo-fi approach for sure, that he actually gets away with – Throw Down Your Laptops may not be required listening, but is an energetic and fun collection of sprawling tracks that manage to sustain interest throughout.
Books is at his finest when he allows his most considered compositions to expand and blossom into something more than the original basic idea that he regularly bases tracks around – for evidence, check “Sporty But Sensible Car,” the imaginative “Terranaut” and the vocal-enhanced “Offend Your Fan Base.”
Despite the strict direct-to-tape philosophy, Throw Down Your Laptops isn’t as abrasively lo-fi as one should think. It’s an approachable and mainly danceable collection of songs, while still retaining an arrogant, punky air about itself. Some tracks on here would definitely have sounded better if given a decent post-production. But you take some and you lose some. All in all, this is a fine achievement from Books On Tape, worth investigating if you’re looking for an unpretentious album of feel-good electro rawk.
Deathbomb Arc Records: http://www.deathbombarc.com
