There’s a very good new album out this week from They Might Be Giants. Join Us shows basic skills in hook making and pop tune manufacturing undiminished after 25 years of making albums. This won’t likely make you forget Flood or No! That is to say that there’s no song here with quite the transcendent soul of “Birdhouse in Your Soul” or “Lazyhead and Sleepybones”. But there’s no denying the basic pop songwriting skills of the Johns.
This has perhaps an even higher than average TMBG batting average of memorable songs. I was a little disappointed on the first listening, but the hooks started kicking in on that second listen. That’s generally a sign of an album that will stick with me. Soon I was walking the streets singing “Can’t Keep Johnny Down” and waiting for the reluctant singing raindrop in “Cloissone”. My favorite at this point is “The Lady and the Tiger” for the sake of the horn parts (whether they’re real or keyboard horns). This is one of the catchier songs they’ve ever written, which is saying something. I’m also somewhat haunted by the image of the narrator smothering his older, wiser self with a pillow in “2082.”
Here’s the complete list of this week’s major new CD album releases:
3 Doors Down
Time of My Life
Republic
Post-Grunge, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal
Imelda May
Mayhem
Decca
Alternative/Indie Rock, Rockabilly Revival, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Rahsaan Patterson
Bleuphoria
Artistry Music
Adult Contemporary R&B
They Might Be Giants
Join Us
Concord
Indie Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
311
Universal Pulse
ATO
Rap-Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Heavy Metal, Alternative Pop/Rock
40 Watt Sun
The Inside Room
Metal Blade
Doom Metal, Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal
Martha Argerich
Martha Argerich Edition: Concertos
EMI Classics
Romantic & Modern Piano Concertos
Big Talk
Big Talk
Epitaph
New Wave/Post-Punk Revival, Alternative/Indie Rock
Brilliant Colors
Again and Again
Slumberland
Noise Pop, Indie Pop, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Khatia Buniatishvili
Franz Liszt [Limited Edition]
Sony Classical
19th Century Piano Music
The John Butler Trio
Live at Red Rocks
ATO
Jam Bands, Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock
Terri Lyne Carrington
The Mosaic Project
Concord
M-Base, Crossover Jazz, Post-Bop, Modern Creative
Chelsea Grin
My Damnation
Razor & Tie
Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Death Metal
Cold
Superfiction
Eleven Seven Music
Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal
Crystal Antlers
Two-Way Mirror
Experimental Rock, Neo-Psychedelia, Indie Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Demonical
Death Infernal
Metal Blade
Death Metal, Heavy Metal, Scandinavian Metal
DJ Khaled
We the Best Forever
Motown
Hardcore Rap, Pop-Rap, Southern Rap
Horse Meat Disco
Horse Meat Disco III
Strut
Post-Disco, Club/Dance, Disco
Carol Kleyn
Love Has Made Me Stronger
Drag City
Acid Folk, Folk-Rock, Psychedelic
Gidon Kremer
Peter I. Tchaikovsky, Victor Kissine: Piano Trios
ECM
Romantic Chamber Music
Lost Sounds
Blac Static
Fat Possum
Garage Punk, Indie Rock, New Wave/Post-Punk Revival, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Malfunkshun
Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story
Hip-O Select
Tom Morello/The Nightwatchman
Union Town
New West
Protest Songs, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Political Folk
Theophilus London
Timez Are Weird These Days
Reprise
Alternative Pop/Rock, Contemporary Pop/Rock, Alternative Rap
Lawrence Zazzo
Lunarcy: Songs of Madness and the Moon
EPR-Classic
Renaissance to Modern Songs with Lute
Original Soundtrack
Captain America: The First Avenger
Buena Vista
Original Score, Film Music, Soundtracks
Eternal Tapestry/Sun Araw
Night Gallery
Thrill Jockey
Alternative/Indie Rock, Experimental Rock, Space Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Portugal. The Man
In the Mountain in the Cloud
Atlantic
Neo-Psychedelia, Alternative/Indie Rock, Experimental Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
REO Speedwagon
Hi Infidelity: 30th Anniversary Edition
Sony Legacy
Album Rock, Arena Rock, Contemporary Pop/Rock, Soft Rock, Adult Contemporary, Hard Rock
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Live in France
ATO
Finger-Picked Guitar, Instrumental Rock, Western European Traditions, Mexican Traditions, Guitar Virtuoso, Andalus Classical, Contemporary Flamenco, Flamenco
Ricky Skaggs
Country Hits: Bluegrass Style
Skaggs Family
Bluegrass-Gospel, Bluegrass, Traditional Bluegrass, Contemporary Bluegrass
Sole and the Skyrider Band
Hello Cruel World
Fake Four
Left-Field Hip-Hop, Alternative Rap
Strung Out
Top Contenders: The Best of Strung Out
Fat Wreck Chords
Alternative/Indie Rock, Punk-Pop, Punk Revival, Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Metal
The Summer Set
Everything’s Fine
Razor & Tie
Emo-Pop, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Unwritten Law
Blue Room
Breaksilence
Skatepunk, Punk/New Wave, Alternative/Indie Rock, Punk-Pop, Post-Grunge, Alternative Pop/Rock
Cedar Walton
The Bouncer
Halfnote
Piano Jazz, Jazz Instrument, Straight-Ahead Jazz
Wiley
100% Publishing
Big Dada
Garage Rap/Grime, Garage
Tags: New Albums