They Might Be Giants are many things to many people. Named after the Don Quixote inspired title to the 1971 George C. Scott film of the same name, the singing duo of John Flansburgh (guitar & vocals) and John Linnell (accordion, saxophone & vocals) first came to prominence in the mid-1980s playing gigs in and around New York City’s Lower East Side accompanied by a drum machine and pre-recorded audio cassette tapes. In the ensuing 35 years TMBG have broadened the range of keyboard and wind instruments played by Linnell and added a three-piece backing band to their lineup. They have gone on to record multiple gold and platinum selling records as well as music for film and television (most notably the award winning theme music to Malcolm In The Middle) and three very successful children’s music albums. To date they have won two Grammy Awards and sold over 4 million records. TMBG’s latest I Like Fun, their 20th album since the release of their 1986 self-titled debut, is a bouncy spirited power pop meditation on mortality filled with fun and inventive lyrical observations on the ultimate inevitability that awaits us all. These 15 upbeat two-and-a-half-minute pop songs about death somehow make for 41 minutes of fun, fun, fun and who doesn’t like fun?
Rating: 8/10