They Might Be Giants
How many times has a band’s 15th album been one of their best? The answer is four. And one of them is Join Us, the new album by They Might Be Giants. Join Us finds John Flansburgh and John Linnell on a creative roll, making music that positively swarms with energy, invention, and an impeccable grasp of the miraculous synergy of words and music.
To understand where this artistry comes from, it helps to remember They Might Be Giants’ beginnings: as a key part of the early ‘80s explosion of visual art, music, and performance art that put New York’s East Village on the cultural map. But while most cutting-edge rock at the time was bruising and nihilistic, the two Johns were making Dadaist, truly post-modern pop, forming a branch of underground music whose membership consisted entirely of themselves. “We’re fully aware of the musical worlds both to the left of us and to the right of us — we’ve heard avant garde music, we’ve heard popular music,” says Flansburgh. “That’s given us the notion that we can be as original as we can be and still make worthwhile songs.”
In 1990, They Might Be Giants created some of their greatest work just as alternative rock was cresting — and went platinum with the classic Flood. In the ensuing 20 years, they’ve become a beloved and fully diversified institution, conquering all media throughout the known universe, contributing to film and TV soundtracks, making hit DVDs, winning two Grammy awards, becoming Musical Ambassadors for International Space Year, appearing as cartoon characters, writing music for a robot ballet, topping the iTunes podcast charts, and being the subject of the acclaimed documentary Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns. And now the very aptly titled Join Us.
Join Us is a great leap forward for They Might Be Giants — in part because in several ways, it’s a “get back” record. On their previous album, 2007’s The Else, the two Johns worked with
producers the Dust Brothers (Beck, Beastie Boys); this time, they produced themselves, along with (very) long-time co-conspirator Pat Dillett, and took a new approach that was actually an old approach. If The Else was a self-consciously rock record, this one strives to be unself-conscious. “We got back to our beginners’ mind about how ugly it could be, how strange it could be,” says Flansburgh. “We’re flying our freak flag super high on this one.”
You can’t step in the same river twice, though, and Join Us finds the two Johns 30 years wiser and more sophisticated than they were on their debut. The studio wizardry, while understated, is state-of-the-art and the performances draw on the ineffable chemistry of an ace live band — drummer Marty Beller, guitarist Dan Miller, and bassist Danny Weinkauf — that has remained virtually unchanged for a decade.
“Brooklyn’s alternative rock pioneers They Might Be Giants’ barn storming live act returns with a brand new show. Spirits will be high as the band celebrates the release of their brand new 18-song album Join Us and their 30th year of uninterrupted rocking. As always, They Might Be Giants’ boundless energy and arresting melodies will engage all.”
