Factory Showroom

8.0/10

  I've seen many reviews that point at this album as some sort of turning point in the band's career, as in it was their first misstep and they were starting to run out of ideas.  Personally I find this to be another very solid album, and the only thing I can see lending credence to the notion that they might be running out of ideas is that at only 13 tracks this is by far the shortest album TMBG had released up to this point.  Since they didn't release another proper album for another five years after this one I could maybe say that they might have somewhat exhausted their ideas with this album, but there are plenty of really good songs on here.  In fact I could even see the argument that less tracks actually makes for a tighter album.  They're still plenty silly, smart, weird, and catchy as all getout.  Plus I think the production on this album might be the strongest yet.

  It kicks off in fine fashion with S-E-X-X-Y, which features some slinky strings and almost a funky James Brown sound or something.   It actually is a pretty sexy song, as the title would suggest.  

  The requisite really bizarre track is here in the form of Exquisite Dead Guy.  But for what could possibly be considered an elaborate throwaway joke, it's remarkably complex and fully formed.  It's freaking weird, yes, but pretty funny at the same time.

  We also get another educational song in the form of James K. Polk.  These educational songs have become kind of a regular thing for the band and they do them very well.  I remember watching a special about all the presidents awhile ago and when they got to Polk it was pretty cool because I knew a lot of the stuff they were talking about because of this song.  Polk isn't really one of those presidents you study much in school, so it's nice to have They Might Be Giants to teach me.

  There's also a really cool experiment on this album in the form of I Can Hear You.  It was recorded without electricity onto wax using equipment that Thomas Edison invented.  It's lo-fi as hell, but it's a catchy little song and the gimmick is pretty damn neat.

  There are a couple of lesser songs on here.  I'm not a huge fan of XTC Vs. Adam Ant or Pet Name.  On the other hand Till My Head Falls Off, Spiralling Shape, and The Bells Are Ringing are all top-notch awesome songs.  I remember I was in college when this album came out and one of my good friends and I would just jam Bells over and over because we were completely addicted to it.  Additionally New York City is apparently a cover of a song by a band called Cub, but it's super catchy and totally fits the TMBG aesthetic.

  Oh yeah, another cool thing about this album.  I owned it for like five or six years on CD before I discovered there's a hidden track on it.  Token Back to Brooklyn is lurking before track 1.  You actually had to rewind the CD from track 1 to find it.  It's not the greatest song of all time or anything, but it was a super cool Easter Egg to discover several years down the line.

  To my ears this is another high quality album from the two Johns.  It's got some really memorable tunes.  No reason to skip this one.  If you're a fan you'll want to hear it.