Factory Showroom:They Might Be Giants

Artist: They Might Be Giants

Date Released: 1996

Label: Elektra

Produced By: They Might Be Giants and Pat Dillett

Tracklisting: 0. Token Back To Brooklyn 1. S-E-X-X-Y 2. Till My Head Falls Off 3. How Can I Sing Like a Girl? 4. Exquisite Dead Guy 5. Metal Detector 6. New York City 7. Your Own Worst Enemy 8. XTC Vs. Adam Ant 9. Spiraling Shape 10. James K. Polk 11. Pet Name 12. I Can Hear You 13. The Bells Are Ringing

Review: So, the horn section is out, Eric Schermerhorn is in, and it's the worst They Might Be Giants record of their career. Part of the problem (aside from Eric Schermerhorn ruining many a song with his awful guitar solos) is that it's too short -- an odd complaint until you hear the stuff that was thrown away from this album (most of which showed up later, thankfully, on Long Tall Weekend and They Got Lost -- stuff like "Certain People I Could Name", "Rephrensible", or the original version of "On The Drag". Seriously, listen to those songs, and then ask yourself why they chucked THOSE in favor of, say, "XTC Vs. Adam Ant" or "I Can Hear You"?  What the HELL, John & John?  There are still some good songs on here ("Till My Head Falls Off", "Pet Name", "The Bells Are Ringing", the cub cover "New York City"), but many of the other tracks combined with the stuff that didn't make the cut just make this a really frustrating album -- it's more like a great EP with some awful bonus tracks. This album was such a let down, I actually couldn't listen to They Might Be Giants for a while -- and from talking to other people, I'm not alone. So, basically, I guess what I'm saying is that it's not really that good, and you probably don't want to start out with this record. - Rev. Syung Myung Me