THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS - Indestructible Object EP (Barsuk)

I have trouble thinking of a band that's aged better than They Might Be Giants. Not to say they haven't made any bad records or lost any of what was good about their early songs, but they've survived as a cult band without pandering or turning self-parody, and they still know how to write.

The first two tracks show Linnell and Flansburgh (respectively) laying down sad-office-worker lyrics, a trope that would bother me were it not just always a special case of the narrative personas they've built up in general. Linnell's "Am I Awake" is nearly laptop-pop so of course I like it, while "Memo To Human Resources" doesn't grab me so quickly, but both sound new. In no way do they seem to rely on the familiarity of the singer's voice or the song's production. That bodes well.

The third new song's too jokey; the fourth track is the bone-dry 1990 b-side "Ant" slightly spruced up; the last track's an airy Beach Boys cover. As I said, they've made bad records before. I just don't feel strung along, so I'm content with the good parts.

(Flansburgh explains the title here. Mandatory reading for those who still don't think TMBG's entire oeuvre is about death.)