Album review: They Might Be Giants, Nanobots (Lojinx)

They Might Be Giants, Nanobots (Lojinx)

Over three decades as They Might Be Giants, the Brooklyn duo of John Flansburgh and John Linnell have developed into a sort of post-modern Flanders & Swann, crafting sharp, witty and entertaining little satires on contemporary mores, set to a dizzying range of styles chosen for humorous emphasis.

On Nanobots, they cram 25 tracks into 45 minutes, ranging from “Call You Mom”, a brisk Sixties rocker, and the quietly threatening secret-service satire “Black Ops”, to “The Darlings of Lumberland”, an infectious, multi-sectioned jazz suite of accordion, sax and bass clarinet. “Tesla” offers a two-minute potted biography of the scientist, while “Sleep” undertakes a complex philosophical discussion of daily renewal in just 38 seconds.

Download: Black Ops; Tesla; Sleep; The Darlings of Lumberland