'Spine' marks the end of TMBG's lull

I hate to be the umpteenth reviewer to refer to They Might Be Giants as "wacky," but that's about the only word in the English language to describe the Brooklyn duo of John Linnell and John Flansburgh. Well, that or maybe "hopelessly catchy," "bizarre" and "polka-heavy," but at least with the release of The Spine we can return to calling them "inspired." The duo's two most recent releases (Factory Showroom and Mink Car) had them sounding repetitive and disposable, which made sense for band whose only real "hit" was released in 1990. The Spine, however, has recaptured a certain darker sentiment and energy that was evident on the brilliant Apollo 18.\nThey Might Be Giants are probably the most divisive band in music -- if you like them, you'll hail them as geniuses; if you hate them, you'll cringe every time you hear what sounds to you like a nasally 13-year-old boy singing kids' jingles and polka. The Spine stays true to form in that regard, but it maintains their sense of humor and even rocks out in places ("Prevenge" made me feel the Johns had tapped into the same vein that they hit when they wrote "Ana Ng" in 1988). Yes, they've done more since "Particle Man" and yes, it's worth checking out.