You Fucken Sucker

The new album from acclaimed composer and co-founder of beloved experimental collage-pop duo, The Books. As a society, we know that we are overwhelmed – consumed by hyper-stimulation, and frustrated by what often feels like an exhaustive barrage of external forces. In his new album, You Fucken Sucker, Paul returns to his musical teens in an uncompromising manner, and with an overwhelming statement for the present. De Jong serves us with an uncanny (and sometimes uncomfortable) reflection of our collective mental excess. Presented in the exact sequence in which it was conceived, You Fucken Sucker charts a grueling and complicated time span in de Jong's life. Over the course of its 14 tracks – which range in length from 15 seconds to nearly 10 minutes – we hear complex tapestries of acoustic and electronic instrumentation submit to waves of unhinged screaming; found-sound assemblage seamlessly incorporating subtle R&B rhythms; Freudian funk; lo-fi prog-metal; and vast synth patch orchestration adding unexpected textures and tension to the whole spectacular mess. Like much of Paul de Jong's work, You Fucken Sucker is a genre unto itself, overflowing with innovative exploration of sounds and senses. Unlike his previous work, it is an unvarnished exposition of anger, frustration, misery and confusion. Perhaps most vitally, it is an opportunity for the rest of us to experience the kind of communal emotional purge more typical of his roots; pre-Internet basement punk rock shows – unafraid of being afraid.