This song contains subject matter that may not be suitable for all readers as it deals with the topic of self harm/suicide.
“The Book” follows a religious fanatic who believes that God has told them that they’ll soon enact the rapture and leave all of the sinners to die. They warn of the oncoming apocalypse by threatening suicide and/or murder as a sacrifice for the Lord, as instructed to by ‘the book’, which can be inferred to be the Bible or some other religious text. It is one of two microtonal songs on Sketches of Brunswick East, and the only of these tracks with lyrics. The song was performed by Alex Brettin (synthesizer), Cavs (drum kit 1/drum kit 2/tambourine/bongos/floor toms/cowbell), Cook (electric guitar), Joey (bass), Lucas (electric piano) and Stu (microtonal organ/vocals/Mellotron). It was released on August 18th, 2017.
The earliest performance to our knowledge was on 2018-02-18 at the Croxton Park Hotel in Naarm (Melbourne). It appeared at the end of a medley of songs throughout February (“Anoxia” > “D-Day” > “Sleep Drifter” > “The Book”) before switching placement in March. These versions were often condensed (ranging from two to three minutes) and were completely instrumental, serving as a place to jam rather than a close to record piece. After a performance on 2018-03-07, the song took a three year break, returning on 2021-04-21 at the UniBar for the band’s completely microtonal shows that year. “The Book” was played a few times in 2022, but had fallen out of rotation. These later versions feature the lyrics unlike the 2018 version and are longer than the studio version, often containing a drum solo from Cavs.