The Books

Using samples from obscure movies, as well as their own singing, mixing, and instrumentation, Paul de Jong and Nick Zammuto construct melodic sound collages and electronic songs so catchy as to be genre defying. On the Massachusetts duo’s 2003 release, The Lemon of Pink, for example, the title track alone contains seamless movements between folk song, art singing, and acoustic picking. In “Be Good To Them Always,” from their latest, Lost and Safe, a squall of reverb and electric guitar is paired with the intoned refrain: “You know, I simply cannot understand people.” However, the Books’ technique and repertoire, while rock solid, don’t always translate to the stage. And so their live concerts are a whole other beast—sometimes inconsistent, but worth checking out. 612-375-7600; www.walkerart.org