You'll feel fine with The Spine in line

Yesterday, I went with bethje and her Uncle John to her cousin Christopher's birthday party. After that, Beth and I went to Borders and IHOP. I had meant to bring a coupon that I had for Borders, but I forgot it. I'm not sure I'm EVER going to actually use one of those things. At IHOP, I tried the new banana split pancakes, which were really good. Oddly enough, though, I preferred the strawberry topping to the blueberry, even though I usually like blueberries better than strawberries. Maybe it had something to do with how the toppings were prepared. Regardless, though, I liked the pancakes, so it's not like it matters that much.

In other news, I've FINALLY gotten to hear The Spine, and I wasn't at all disappointed by it. Overall, it seems to be a return to when They Might Be Giants songs were short and catchy; the longest one is only three minutes and ten seconds long. Fans who thought the band had lost their way with their recent albums will probably be glad to discover that these songs are ones that are easy to get into. On the other hand, fans of longer, somewhat more epic songs like "Sleeping In The Flowers," "The End Of The Tour," "Spiraling Shape," and "Hopeless Bleak Despair" might be a bit disappointed to find out that there isn't anything comparable here. Still, I doubt they'll be disappointed for long, since the vast majority of what IS here is done very well, and that's saying a lot for the album. It could probably have used a few more songs, though. I understand that a short but cohesive album can sometimes sound better than a long, rambling one, but I tend to have a particular fondness for albums that pack in as many songs as possible. Call it my completist tendencies, I guess.

I like the art in the liner notes. They're definitely in the style of an old-fashioned cartoon, and I like the inverted writing. I didn't think so much of it when I first saw the front cover, but I think the whole thing works quite well.

The album is identified as "They Might Be Giants' Tenth Album." I know they considered Factory Showroom to be their sixth, since it says so right in the liner notes, continuing the tradition that they had established in the first five. None of the albums in between Factory Showroom and The Spine are numbered, however, which leaves the true identity of the seventh through ninth albums up in the air. Mink Car and No! almost definitely count, and I'd probably say Long Tall Weekend should be considered the seventh, but a case could also be made for Severe Tire Damage, and possibly even They Got Lost.

Anyway, here's a song-by-song review. I'm not sure why I generally only do these for TMBG albums these days, but it just seems appropriate.
( My song-by-song review )

I'll probably review the companion EP, "The Spine Surfs Alone," tomorrow, after I've had a chance to listen to it a few times.