They Might Be Giants: Join Us

They Might Be Giants
Join Us
Idlewild/Rounder Records [2011]









Fire Note Says: Join Us is the quirky and fun return to indie rock from the always entertaining They Might Be Giants.

Album Review:
I can totally respect the children albums They Might Be Giants have been releasing over the last 4 years but I will admit it is nice to see the quirky duo of John Flansburgh and John Linnell get back to some straight up alternative fun on their new long player Join Us. This 18 track record once again hits all the genres and shines in some areas while falling a bit flat in others. The peppy opening track "Can't Keep Johnny Down" is classic sounding TMBG while "Dog Walker" sounds like the guys sucked down some helium and then decided to sing a song. "Old Pine Box" is a snappy hand clapping almost acoustic jangle that is a catchy winner while "When Will You Die" is a standard sounding TMBG track which could appear on any record and seems to almost be an afterthought. That is the way Join Us plays out over its 46 minutes with plenty of goofball but engaging songs that only TMBG could release and longtime fans will enjoy. Join Us is not a TMBG classic but after almost 30 years the guys seem to be in a very comfortable place as this spirit transcends into the music and ultimately turns this album into a fun listen all the way through.

Key Tracks: "Can't Keep Johnny Down", "Old Pine Box", "The Lady And The Tiger"

Bands With Similar Fire:
The Dead Milkmen
Camper Van Beethoven
Weezer

They Might Be Giants: The Else [Fire Note Review 8/15/07]

They Might Be Giants Website
They Might Be Giants Facebook
Rounder Records

-Reviewed by Christopher Anthony