They Might Be Giants - Factory Showroom

Factory Showroom is the second They Might Be Giants album to feature the Brooklyn duo backed by a full band. The band allows John Linnell and John Flansburgh to parody the pop music of their late '70s and early '80s youth more accurately, and thus, more wittily. On the disco parody, "S-E-X-X-Y," for example, Iggy Pop bassist Hal Cragin supplies a vintage funk bottom, while arranger Kurt Hoffman contributes a Chic-like string chart. When they follow with the new-wave parody, "Till My Head Falls Off," Graham Maby's staccato bass line, Eric Schermerhorn's jittery guitar chords, and Linnell's bleating organ sound just like the Cars. Of course, this raises the question of whether we really need parodies of Chic and the Cars at this late date, especially when the satires resemble the targets too much to be irreverent, but not enough to be their equal. --Geoffrey Himes