The Books have been one of the most interesting indie pop, experimental bands coming from the USA in the last decade. After more than 10 years of existence and four brilliant albums, the duo (Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong) have disbanded a few weeks ago.

Nick Zammuto, in a recent interview with Pitchfork, chose not to reveal the reasons of this decision: “Right now, going into the details of it does not serve anyone, and I’m still too close to it to talk about it without getting angry. It’s best for it to remain a mystery for a while. I doubt we will work together again, and unfortunately it almost certainly means we will retire the name after these last releases are out“.
By the way, fans will be delighted to learn that The Books will have some more material released; as Nick said, we can expect: “a couple LPs worth of B-sides and soundtracks, a box set with the four [Books] records, and an updated DVD later this year“.

On the other hand, Nick is looking at the future – and the future looks bright, since he just kick-started a new project simply called Zammuto, which will release a self-titled debut album April, 3 (on Temporary Residence). But it was not an easy choice, as Nick explained: “I seriously considered just stopping music since it’s such an uncertain business and hard on my family, but my wife and close friends urged me to make another record right away. It definitely had a “do or die” kind of feeling hanging over it“.

Zammuto features also Gene Back (a guitarist/keyboardist/violinist who used to collaborate with The Books) , drummer Sean Dixon, Nick on guitar and vocals, and Nick’s brother Mikey on bass.