They Might Be Giants – Book (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]

They Might Be Giants – Book (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 42:09 minutes | 528 MB | Genre: Alternative Rock, Pop Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Idlewild Recordings

Grammy-winning duo They Might Be Giants have sold over 4 million albums worldwide and now present their new album Book, available on CD, cassette, vinyl, and deluxe CD book package.

They Might Be Giants are a band out of time—their music nostalgic for an era that maybe never existed: some amalgam of Kay Kyser big-band goofiness from the ’40s, ’50s naivete, ’60s retrofuturism and the unique quirkiness of ’90s college radio. Their 17th studio album, Book (which accompanies a book of illustrations and lyrics) taps into a Swinging London spirit. You hear the shiny newness of the British Invasion in “Part of You Wants to Believe Me,” with its organ and dance-craze drums, and in the laidback hookah-lounge vibe of “Super Cool.” It’s in the groovy, bass-heavy fusion of “I Lost Thursday,” about the blurry confusion that came with pandemic lockdowns: “I lost Thursday/ I had it somewhere … I lost Thursday/ Like it was nothing.” And you especially get it from “Lord Snowdon,” which was inspired by the titular celebrity photographer who was married to Britain’s Princess Margaret and embodied the spirit of Austin Powers. As bright trumpets shine and Hammond organ pumps out a psychedelic groove worthy of a Petula Clark hit, TMBG delivers the devastating chorus: “Lord Snowdon reporting for service/ Ennui and shopping sprees/ Light through a shutter’s lens/ Where it’s frozen like you, dear/ Frozen like you, dear.” Of course, the Johns Flansburgh and Linnell are experts at cheerfully withering or incisive lines, and there’s no shortage of those on Book. “You called it self-improvement, but I had other words/ Half asleep and brainwashed like shaking off a curse” goes “Moonbeam Rays,” raising an eyebrow at the self-help lifestyle so associated with the West Coast even as it bounces along on a wave of sunny California pop. “Brontosaurus” is a heartbreaker about the risk of sticking out your neck (you know, like a brontosaurus): “It had been going so well/ And then I broke my eggshell … Maybe I’m too sensitive/ Who would have believed skin could be so porous?” There are moments of pure weirdness, like the horror theme-sounding “Synopsis for Latecomers,” which recaps the scenario “for everyone who just arrived”: “You’re asking how container ships were found/ abandoned in the desert sand/ covered in snakes … I know the question that is foremost in your thoughts/ ‘Who ate the babies?'” And, once again, an obscure historical moment makes its way in; in this case, “If Day for Winnipeg,” about a real-life simulation of a Nazi occupation that took place in the Canadian city during 1942. “Darling, the Dose” co-opts the piano pop of Randy Newman and Harry Nilsson; “I Broke My Own Rule” chimes like a disorienting nursery rhyme; and “I Can’t Remember the Dream” sounds like nothing so much as a TMBG song—in the exhilarating vein of classics “Ana Ng” or “Birdhouse in Your Soul.” “I can’t remember the drеam that I had last night/ If I could I would write it out, underline thе highlights/ Of the dream that would now redefine my life.” But when it comes to TMBG, there’s no need to redefine when little adjustments keep things invigorating. – Shelly Ridenour

Tracklist:
01. They Might Be Giants – Synopsis for Latecomers (02:25)
02. They Might Be Giants – Moonbeam Rays (02:51)
03. They Might Be Giants – I Broke My Own Rule (03:22)
04. They Might Be Giants – Brontosaurus (03:04)
05. They Might Be Giants – Lord Snowden (02:25)
06. They Might Be Giants – If Day for Winnipeg (02:13)
07. They Might Be Giants – I Can’t Remember the Dream (03:12)
08. They Might Be Giants – Drown the Clown (02:41)
09. They Might Be Giants – Darling, The Dose (02:15)
10. They Might Be Giants – I Lost Thursday (03:14)
11. They Might Be Giants – Part of You Wants to Believe Me (02:58)
12. They Might Be Giants – Super Cool (02:11)
13. They Might Be Giants – Wait Actually Yeah No (03:20)
14. They Might Be Giants – Quit the Circus (02:52)
15. They Might Be Giants – Less Than One (02:59)

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