In the Netflix series “Four Seasons” with Tina Fey and Steve Carell, there is a great moment in the record store in the middle of a marital argument: He fishes out the debut album by They Might Be Giants, released 40 years ago, pumped full of memories. She knows about it. And suddenly everything is fine. They Might Be Giants are still around, the two Johns (Linnell and Flansburgh) are surprised that their daring idea of a two-man indie band has lasted so long.
How did they do that? The title of the 24th album gives the answer: THE WORLD IS TO DIG. Anything can become the template for a song: a return to LA, the last days of the Wu-Tang Clan or the silly movement game “The Floor is Lava”. They Might Be Giants turn strange ideas into short, nervous, nerdy pop songs. 18 of them can be found on the new record. It’s like always with these two: Not every idea works, but when the tracks work, then They Might Be Giants sound as fresh and idiosyncratic as they did in 1986 on “Character Flaw” or “What You Get”.
