Review: They Might Be Giants - The Else

REVIEW

They Might Be Giants - The Else



     Believe it or not, after seeing them live, I wasn't too thrilled about hearing this album. But, luckily, their production skills are so good that it's not fair to judge them or their songs by their live performances, especially when they have to lower their expansive arsenal of instruments and sounds to a mere quintet setting. After the sorely mediocre Mink Car, the better The Spine, and finally the mostly sour Venue Songs, The Else has proven to be their best album in years.
      A lot of people are going to be critical upon this album upon first listen, especially if it's a casual one. Songs like "Upside-Down Frown" even has a title that will make most cringe, "Bee of the Bird of the Moth" has a beginning that can easily make someone quickly disinterested, and "Take Out the Trash" can come across as disgustingly too poppy. Never fear, though! They Might Be Giants has proven in the past to take terrible pop ideas and transform them into great works of art; it's just that of the past few albums have made fans like me very cautious about listening to their new material.
      "Upside-Down Frown" is a song that's lyrics are lame, but TMBG has been known in the past to make songs like this with excellent parts in it to make it catchy and end up good. Remember "Sleeping in the Flowers"? Potentially very lame, but in the end turns out to be very likable. Listen to the lyrics around the chorus and the musicality of the instrumentation and you'll find the song to be like others with choruses that are meant to be more satirical than serious. That's an element that TMBG has used in the past, but as noted before, fans don't trust their ability to do it and make the rest of the song good anymore.
      In terms of "Take Out the Trash", yes, it's poppy, but I'd be damned if it weren't a song that outlines the reason that music connoisseurs can stand to still listen to some pop music. It's catchy, and the lyrics aren't all that bad. It may be lame to say "Girl!/Why not take out the trash?" because it's a ridiculously un-clever and obvious metaphor, but they make it work, especially when they add the oddly creative, indirect TMBG touch to it with lyrics like "I'm not saying all the boys are the same/But, some boys are the same and it's Thursday now".
      Finally, "Bird of the Bee of the Moth" needs to be listened to all the way through. It ends up sounding like an old song of their due to what they do with the instruments that they have.
      Getting through the mislabeled-as-"bad" songs, allow me to praise some of the best on the album. One review I read called "The Mesopotamians" gimmicky. HELLO. This song is what this band is really all about: creative, lyrical song writing. Are songs like "Why Does the Sun Shine?" and "James K. Polk" terrible because it deals with factual information and turns that information into a creative song? "The Mesopotamians" is awesome because it returns to that style of TMBG writing and makes great use of it. And, whoever says that song is solely about a traveling band needs to go back to high school and take a World History class.
      "Feign Amnesia" is another song that returns to TMBG writing that long-time fans have loved. It's funny and a creative way to talk about situations that normal pop songs expire easily with writing of the opposite quality. "The Cap'm" is my personal favorite due to an initial hook and the hilarity of the lyrics themselves. Yes, John, I do agree: that hat looks damn good on you.
      In the end, The Else can be called a return to form for They Might Be Giants. With songwriting that has been repaired and carefully crafted to the genius that we know them for, it turns out to be an album that is worthy of a spot next to "John Henry" and even "Factory Showroom".