For those of you reading this who only know They Might Be Giants for their ubiquitous 90s single Birdhouse in Your Soul (myself included), what I’m going to tell you next may surprise you. Glean is TMBG’s 17th album ! Yes, 17… It is actually a compilation of the band’s 2015 Dial A Song project, which was originally a phone number and has turned into a streaming service offered to TMBG fans here.
The NYC based band is essentially John Flansburgh and John Linnell, and they have been churning out material since the early 80’s, including of late finding success in children’s music and theme tunes for several TV programmes. Boss of Me from Malcolm in the Middle is I guess the best known over here.
Glean doesn’t really depart from their quirky, alternative indie blueprint - and literally from the first 5 seconds of opener Erase, this could only really be TMBG, from the ridiculously familiar vocals, to the bouncy singalong style.
2nd track Good To Be Alive starts with a popcorn style intro, then into smooth acoustic guitars and synths with a mood as lovely as the title suggests.
The quirky, abstract lyrics are still a feature and endearing part of the bands DNA. On Underwater Woman, a song about a mermaid (I assume !) : “Brushing her hair, eating a pear, no-one can tell when she cries…..” Brilliant.
Anyone fancy a trip to the Music Jail ?? The 4th track offers a change in style, and I wasn’t sure whether to sit and listen to it, or get up and tango.
And so it goes on. The track titles get increasingly bizarre, such as “I Can Help The Next In Line”, “All The Lazy Boyfriends”, “Aaa” and “Let Me Tell You About My Operation”…..but the overall mood is good natured with a big broad smile on its face.
Penultimate track on this 15 song collection is Let Me Tell You About My Operation, and this time its ragtime, with thumping double bass and horns, before leading into closer and title track Glean which is again, a quirky unexpected step and this time an instrumental.
This is a collection of songs to put a smile on your face. Always upbeat whilst slightly off-beat, but don’t underestimate the skill of the song writing and the playing just because they’re having a good time.
Keith @kjsmith4082
8/11
