Soundbite: "Album Raises New and Troubling Questions" by They Might be Giants

They Might Be Giants
Album Raises New and Troubling Questions
Idlewild Recordings
3.5 paws

With a career spanning 29 years and 15 major releases, They Might Be Giants could not be classified as a young band. However, simply given its newest album, “Album Raises New and Troubling Questions,” without any background information, one might be surprised to learn just how long the band has been around.

“Album Raises New and Troubling Questions” is the ninth compilation album put out by They Might Be Giants, composed mainly of B-sides, rarities, live versions, remixes of previous songs and songs that didn’t quite make the cut on their newest full-length album “Join Us.”

As can be expected, the album feels a lot like a collection of tracks rather than a cohesive whole. Each track seems to explore a different style or genre and, while this creates an interesting listening experience, it can become a little frustrating for the listener.

The longest song on the album is three minutes and five seconds, so if a song happens to catch the listener’s attention, it’s unfortunately over before it even has a chance to really get going, and it’s not likely that that particular style will be used again on other tracks on the album.

In addition to the myriad of styles explored, these rarities also seem to hint at the band’s possible inspirations as well. A number of tracks seem like either unconscious or intentional nods to other bands, from the direct covers of Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping” (featuring The Onion’s A.V. Club) and the Pixies’ “Havalina” to the “inspired by” sound of the Cake-esque “You Probably Get That A Lot (Elegant Too Remix)” or the David Bowie-sounding “Dopplegangers of They.”

Still, these tracks are some of the best on the album, and while they might be reminiscent of other artists, they still manage to have a distinct sound of their own. They are also probably the most accessible songs on the album since they allow listeners unfamiliar with They Might Be Giants a chance to find grooves and sounds that might be familiar.

Unfortunately, though, much of the rest of the album is clearly for fans of the band, and while this is obviously intentional, it does make the release a little alienating for those who have missed the chance to hop on the They Might Be Giants train.

For example, the track “Boat of Car” is a weird track just over a minute long that doesn’t really go anywhere and, for the most part, is little more than a brass section with vocals. “Mountain Flowers,” another short track, features strange discordant accordion, an almost punk drum beat and whispery-sing-song vocals. These all add together to create an interesting experience, but not one that’s really easy to enjoy.

As it is, the album probably works best in rotation with the rest of the band’s discography, which makes sense and is probably what they were going for. It does, however, mean that these tracks probably are not the best representation of the band and true fans are the ones who are going to get the most out of them.

All in all, the album doesn’t so much raise new and troubling questions as it does provide some interesting, if frustratingly inconsistent, songs.