They Might Be Giants, a New York-based rock band, has had a music career both diverse and long-lasting. From the outset, founders John Flansburgh and John Linnell sought to craft a distinctive quirky sound, attracting a listening demographic ranging from six-year-olds and their middle-aged parents, to staff writers for The Crimson.
Though They Might Be Giants has been around for a long time, the group does not seem to have plans to stop. They have scheduled a tour of Boston, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Woodstock, Indianapolis, Detroit, and Chicago for this spring. In their latest music and tour setup, They Might Be Giants demonstrates that they want to evolve their sound and keep things interesting.
On Feb. 10, the band released a new single titled “Wu-Tang.” The single will appear on their album “The World Is To Dig,” which is set to release on April 14th.
“It’s been just a very hectic time getting it all out into the world, but it seems like it’s getting a good response,” Flansburgh said.
Lyrically, the track seems to be sort of a tribute to the rap group Wu-Tang Clan. The vocal harmonies between Linnell and Flansburgh give the song somewhat of the same feel as earlier They Might Be Giants music, like “Subliminal” or “Dead.” The rhythm section packs a punch, perhaps hinting at more liveliness to come on their upcoming album, “The World Is To Dig.”
Another recent release was their EP “Eyeball,” with the track “Peggy Guggenheim” highlighting the Tricerachops Horns, a horn section that has played with They Might Be Giants on numerous occasions. The horns are entertaining, upbeat, and very highly skilled, adding an energetic element to the music.
Flansburgh said, “From my experience, it seems like audiences are definitely not used to seeing virtuoso horn players, which these guys really are.”
Indeed, one does not usually encounter horns in a rock concert. But for They Might Be Giants, such touches feel routine. Pushing boundaries with instrumentation — many of their popular songs feature allows them to be more experimental.
At the end of the “Eyeball” EP is a second version of the title track, with the rhythm section reworked by The Elegant Too. Flansburgh collaborated with The Elegant Too when making music for the show “Malcolm in the Middle.”
About the group, Flansburgh said, “We were kind of at the all you can rock buffet, trying to just make enough to fill this show with the amount of music that they needed. So, we started collaborating with different people.”
Collaborating is just one way that the duo has expanded their musical repertoire. They have made music for children’s shows, commercials, and films alike. “The World is to Dig” will likely showcase even more musical innovation from the band’s past few years of work. The album’s name stems from a children’s book that Flansburgh had as a kid, titled “A Hole is to Dig.”
When asked about the name, Flansburgh said, “I was trying to think of a title that would be positive. We live in this terrible political moment that I think is frightening everybody, and I didn’t want the title to be reactive to that, but at the same time, I also sort of wanted to spread a little bit of positive, just sort of immediate positivity.”
The group recorded the album over the course of a year, but the first version was not as upbeat as Flansburgh wished. They ultimately replaced a few songs with stronger, more up tempo ones. As an established band – this will be their 24th album — the Giants allowed themselves more time to perfect the album before finally releasing it. A somewhat slower creative tempo is fine, as they do not feel obligated to release unbaked music quickly to keep up with trends or fans.
Tempo is important in They Might Be Giants’ concerts as well. When choosing their set list, they take into account both audience preferences and various songs they want to spotlight. They choose sequences of three or four songs to play in a row, then speak to the audience between medleys.
Regarding set lists, Flansburgh said, “It’s definitely about momentum; we definitely are aware of how the BPM of songs affects audiences, and we use that to our advantage.”
On this year’s tour, They Might Be Giants will be playing multiple concerts at each city, each night featuring a different album in the first half of the concert. Fans who attend multiple shows will hear distinct songs each time. According to Flansburgh, the band could make more money by playing in more cities, but they prefer to challenge themselves by varying the set lists during multi-night stays.
Flansburgh said, “It’s a way to keep the show fresh for ourselves. When you do the same show every night, even though your intention is to simply put on the best show that you can, it’s always a little less exciting.”
By staying true to themselves and seeking challenges, They Might Be Giants has been able to make music on their own terms. Before making their first self-titled album, they did not conceive that they would ever produce more music than the demo tape of songs they had. They were not aware of how they would fit into the world, or what their career would be like. Additionally, the band played very few openers when they were starting out. They did not want to have to conform to another band’s standards, as they leaned more extreme. These early experiences informed the band’s practices. Nowadays, they continue to focus on evolving their music without worrying about finding a bigger audience.
Flansburgh said, “I guess we just kind of wanted to be the stars of our own lives.”
By being the stars that they are, the Giants have gained an eclectic following, including many very dedicated fans. Their “take-it-or-leave-it” approach to music allows them to be more creative, and they keep finding people who want to learn more and more about the band. Various Discord servers dedicated to the band frequently gain new members, and the fan-maintained wiki has a vibrant community.
Whether it be by adding horns and accordions to their songs, collaborating with others, or enforcing their own musical vision in albums and concerts, They Might Be Giants continue to build an intriguing and absorbing discography. They will be in Boston on June 5 and 6 at the Citizens House of Blues.
—Staff writer Canela E. Tustin can be reached at [\[email protected\]](/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3556545b5059541b414046415c5b75415d5056475c58465a5b1b565a58).