They Might Be Giants, Book
(Idlewild) ***1/2
Before Barenaked Ladies or the Presidents of the United States of America, the masters of whimsical rock were They Might Be Giants. Four decades on they continue to reinvent themselves, with a big sound for a twosome. They’re in full spin damage control mode for opener Synopsis For Latecomers and catastrophise on I Broke My Own Rule. If Day For Winnipeg is Beatlesque in its surrealism, while I Can’t Remember the Dream sports a Wild Thing riff. They get careless on I Lost Thursday, while on Quit the Circus (with its hint of glockenspiel) they sing: “We’re as much use as the rotary phone.” And on Less Than One: “I bought half of a timeshare/ Half of me will be staying there.” As the name implies, a companion hardcover is available with cutting-edge street photography.