The world of different rock of late has been taken over by too manyflannel-clad lead singers, too many distortion pedals, and too many main labelshoping to signal the following Nirvana. To be deemed different now, all one wants space few indecipherable lyrics, some well-placed suggestions, and some stage divers intheir movies hurling themselves into swarms of sweaty our bodies all performing as thoughthey invented slam-dancing. After awhile all of it seems the identical. That’s whylistening to “John Henry,” They May Be Giants’ fifth full-length album, is sucha refreshing and rewarding expertise. There aren’t any contrived photographs and phonyposturing, simply well-crafted songs, amusing lyrics, and the standard bit ofquirkiness that defines all the They May Be Giants’ albums.
“JohnHenry” marks the debut of TMBG’s full piece band which augments properly JohnFlansburgh’s and John Linnell’s off-center lyrics and regular vocals, offering apleasant listening expertise. As with different TMBG albums, “John Henry” presentssongs that take care of all kinds of matters which, on the floor, seem ashumorous songs with catchy sing-along-able hooks.
Nevertheless, as one probes deeperinto the lyrics, one finds TMBG singing about not-so-humorous matters such asthought management, despair, and recluse artists. On the laid again “Filth Bike,”the band makes use of the title as an odd metaphor for brainwashing establishments (“Allhail the grime bike, thinker grime bike … Thoughts bending grime bike incontrol”). This theme is sustained within the track “I Needs to be Allowed to Assume”which includes the primary line of Allen Ginsberg’s traditional poem, “Howl” intothe lyrics. On the lighter aspect, TMBG offers with the issue of a wandering mindon “Unrelated Factor.” The intelligent lyrics embody: “Do you smile ’trigger I’mfunny? mentioned the person./I wasn’t joking and I meant the factor I mentioned./In no way,in no way,/mentioned the girl to the person./I used to be pondering of an unrelated factor.”Persevering with to combine the intense with the whimsical, TMBG shines on “John Henry.”
