Having already released albums by The Bodeans and Cowboy Junkies in the month previous, Zoe records proves that they're out to assimilate prominent late 80's/early 90's bands one at a time as they now release a new album by They Might Be Giants. The years have not been kind to this quirky Boston duo, as release after release have fallen short or completely flat since 1992's Apollo 18. Things were looking up however after the flashes of creative flourishing shown on Mink Car, and their kids album No! But The Spine shows once again that you should just go back and clutch onto your Lincoln and Flood records because They Might Be Giants are just plain out of great ideas. The novelty has worn off.

The album starts promisingly enough with "Experimental Film," a great rock song, and probably their best song period, since "I Palindrome I" off of Apollo. But after that, you really have to strain to find anything worthwhile here. "Prevenge" sounds like a great title for a song, but to no avail, once arriving at the meat and potatoes of the chorus, you come to the realization that "Prevenge" is just a clever title and not a clever song. They Might Be Giants' shtick has become a pretty predictable formula that borders on total boredom. You know the drill, the cryptic lyrics and the clever wordplay, but here it just doesn't seem so clever or inspired. It just feels like Linnell and Flansburgh are running through the motions and singing about weird stuff because it's what's to be expected of them. For example, on "Wearing a Raincoat" they sing 'Demanding constant attention will only lead to attention, and once they have your attention they use it to ask for attention, and once they have that attention they use it to ask for attention' And so on and so forth. It's really not catchy or fun at all, but simply annoying. Other than the great lead off track, The Spine for the most part is a pain in the neck.