"Factory Showroom" is the second They Might Be Giants album to feature the Brooklyn duo backed by a full band. The band allows John Linnell and John Flansburgh to parody the pop music of their youth (late-'70s and early 80's) more accurately and thus more wittily. When they open the album with the disco parody, "S-E-X-X-Y", for example, Iggy Pop bassist Hal Cragin supplies a vintage funk bottom, while arranger Kurt Hoffman contributes a Chic-like string chart behind the Barry White-like vocal. And when They Might Be Giants follow with the new-wave parody, "Till My Head Falls Off," Graham Maby's staccato bass line, Eric Schermerhorn's jittery guitar chords and Linnell's bleating organ sound just like the Cars.
Of course, this raises the question of whether we really need parodies of Chic and the Cars at this late date, especially when the satires resemble the targets too much to be irreverent but not enought to be their equal. In other words, the punch lines aren't funny enough to make you laugh out loud, and the music isn't good enough to be great rock 'n' roll. On the other hand, if you have fond memories of early new wave hits, even if they slightly embarrass you today, you'll find both feelings reflected in songs such as "XTC vs. Adam Ant" and the Blondie-influenced "How Can I Sing Like a Girl?" If you long for the days when They Might Be Giants made cheesy-synth recordings about nerdy, obsessive loners, you'll find examples in "Metal Detector" and "Your Own Worst Enemy." The album's strangest track is "I Can Hear You", which was recorded without electricity directly onto a wax cylinder at the Thomas Edison Historical Site.