eMusic

Start Your Trial

Lincoln

by

They Might Be Giants

 
Lincoln
view larger image View Larger

Rate it!

Avg: 4.5 (132 ratings)

  • We Say...

    Misapprehending lines like "There's a bathroom on the right" are one thing, but what about songs that don't make sense even with the lyrics in front of you? Brooklyn, New York's They Might Be Giants — the mind-bogglingly versatile John Flansburgh and John Linnell — begin their wildly diverse second album, Lincoln, with "Ana Ng," a love song of sorts best appreciated for its torrential electric pop chorus, not its World's Fair setting. Other songs here, including "Lie Still, Little Bottle," "Piece of Dirt," "Kiss Me, Son of God" and "They'll Need a Crane," are marginally easier to follow, but the intricate wordplay and nonstop musical invention carry Lincoln along. Sounding as if they had just discovered themselves in possession of musical superpowers, the Giants set out to do it all, from rock to country, balladry, electro-pop, show tunes, jazz, and standards — none of it specific to any time or place. In the Giants' universe, reality is a malleable thing, full of improbable juxtapositions (Cowtown just happens to be underneath the sea) and absurdity (a history lesson that starts in '60s Selma, Alabama, is called "Purple Toupee"). Lincoln, like all of the band's early albums, is part record, part brain-teasing sensation.

  • They Say...

    Cutting away some of the artier aspects of their debut, They Might Be Giants craft another wildly eclectic and geekily fun collection of alt-pop with Lincoln. In general, the album displays greater musical ambition than its predecessor, especially since the duo have trimmed many of the weirder excesses of the debut. Without such arty trappings, their gift for irresistible pop hooks becomes all the more clear, with "Ana Ng," "Purple Toupee," the Latin shuffle of "The World's Address," "Santa's Beard," the surprisingly affecting "They'll Need a Crane," and the lounge jazz of "Kiss Me, Son of God" standing out among the 18 songs. And when They Might Be Giants don't go for the hooks, as on "Pencil Rain" or "Cage & Aquarium," they prove to be expert musical satirists, which means that Lincoln is every bit as infectious as the debut.

  • You Say...

    Write a Review

    I would like to say...

    Artist: They Might Be Giants

    Album: Lincoln

    Review Title: (maximum 50 characters)

    Your Review: (maximum 1,000 characters)

    Cancel

    Please keep your comments to the recordings themselves, and be courteous and respectful. Thanks! For further info, read our Community Guidelines.

The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.


Rolling Stone
Start Your Trial

Recently Viewed

© 1998-2009 eMusic.com Inc. eMusic and the eMusic logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks in the USA or other countries. All rights reserved.

All Music Guide © 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC
Portions of content provided by All Music Guide, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC

Facebook®, YouTube, Flickr™ and Wikipedia® are registered trademarks of their respective owners, Facebook Inc., Google, Inc., Yahoo! Inc. and Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Neither Facebook Inc., Google, Inc., Yahoo! Inc. nor Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. are partners or sponsors of eMusic. eMusic uses the Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia API but is not endorsed or certified by Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia. eMusic does not pre-screen, monitor, endorse nor assume any liability for websites, contents, products, services or claims made by Facebook, YouTube, Flickr™ and Wikipedia®.