They Might Be Giants - I Like Fun
Johns Flansburgh and Linnell have been making experimental, unconventional rock music as They Might Be Giants - initially as a duo with drum machine and subsequently as a full band - for over 35 years. Their commercial heyday came in 1990 with platinum album Flood and hit single Birdhouse In Your Soul. Since then, there have been diversions into albums for kids, a musical and ad campaigns. Now backed up by Dan Miller, Danny Weinkauf and Marty Beller I Like Fun is TMBG’s twentieth album.
I admire TMBG as stalwarts as the alt scene and I wanted – really wanted - to like this. I love Let’s Get This Over With. I Left My Body is a delight. An Insult To The Fact Checkers is a thoroughly modern take on new wave. Push Back The Hands and Last Wave are cracking, twisted pop. The Bright Side could be British Sea Power at their best. The trouble is that the remaining ten songs are little more than fluff and filler and are no better than okay. Take the very best that is here and there’s a damned fine EP or mini-LP but, as a full album, this is a disappointment.
5/10
