They Might Be Giants promoted their first album in 1986 with an appearance on The Joe Franklin Show, hosted by the clueless vaudevillian/C-list celebrity. Johns Linnell and Flansburgh were clearly thrilled to be doing the show for the kitsch factor alone; they showed their homemade video for "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" and seemed genuinely delighted at Franklin when he got their name wrong (They Must Be Giants, They May Be Giants). Oddly enough, Franklin may have been on to something. Over the past quarter century, TMBG has worked in so many different stylistic constructs -- Indie Rock nobodies, alt.press darlings, phone-to-internet pioneers, commercial successes, TV/film contributors, kids music heroes, documentary subjects -- perhaps more than just one name was required.
TMBG's latest album, Join Us, its first album of non-kid material since 2007's edgy and cool The Else, finds the band continuing to channel their experimental Pop side to create a vibe resembling their eponymous debut and its follow-up, 1988's Lincoln. "Cloisonné" has a Harry Nilsson-goes-Klezmer lilt, "Let Your Hair Hang Down" shimmers with Brian Wilson-produces-the-Cyrcle Pop sunshine, "In Fact" combines Mariachi, Spy/Surf themes and propulsive Indie Rock, "Dog Walker" jerks and smirks with Beastie Boys panache and "Never Knew Love" is TMBG's twisted take on romantic Synth Pop.
There's plenty of the band's patented weirdness (on "Three Might Be Duende" and the band roll call/snarky mortality countdown of "When Will You Die") and straight Indie Rock snap ("You Don't Like Me," "Judy is Your Viet Nam," "Can't Keep Johnny Down"), but like every unique thing they've ever done, Join Us is a jigsaw puzzle piece that fits in its singular place in They Might/Must/May Be Giants' surreal yet oddly logical big picture.