Glean
Meet the new Doctor Worm, same as the old Doctor Worm. Those who love They Might Be Giants from the days of old will still be enjoying their wry, sardonic and illustriously absurd brand of indie pop-rock to this day, even as Johns Linnell and Flansburgh enter their 50s.
Much like the two records that precede it – 2011’s Join Us and 2013’s Nanobots – Glean has a killer opening track (Erase), a bit of dorky fun (Unpronounceable) and its share of diehards-only filler (the title track and Madam, I Challenge You To A Duel).
It’s safe to say that the Giants have found a method that works for them – and, quite probably, them only – and stuck with it through thick and thin. And why not? After all, it’s not as if the band has anything to prove to a younger generation – ones, perhaps, even too young to recall the band’s last charting hit, Boss Of Me.
The Johns know their audience, and the audience knows the Johns. To upset the balance so late in proceedings just wouldn’t make sense for either camp.
Just adjust your glasses and take it all in for what it is. To over-think Glean is to undersell that relationship.
★★★
DAVID JAMES YOUNG
