It is sweet to note, that in 2026, Johns Linnell and Flansburgh are still here, still making music, still offering their own world of whimsy as an alternative to reality’s dreck. The World Is to Dig lives in a world of its own, inviting us somewhere in which the asininities are actually enjoyable.
This sort of good-humoured world-building has already led to They Might Be Giants releasing multiple children’s albums, which in turn has led to the duo naming its twenty-third album after a children’s book; Ruth Krauss’s A Hole Is to Dig.
Positivity is diversely sourced. A recurring source is fandom. We’re past the repressive era of shrugging fandom off as dorky; it’s one of the few things here for us when we need it. We’re literally screaming our love for Wu-Tang on Wu-Tang; we’re repurposing The Raspberries’ Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) with clearer irony, and hurtled fuzz.
No matter how intentional, Garbage In is a strong nod to The Beach Boys’ baroque-ier tunes, like a bouncier Cabinessence, lovingly reduced to a dopey, zombie-oriented joke – “remove the head or destroy the brain”, like a carnival barker warning the populous.
TMBG’s own chronology is also sourced. What You Get is, fittingly, what you get with many a classic TMBG tune – its key changes will make you wobble! Slow contains chromatic vocal melodies, filthily psychedelic and impressively uneasy, as a guitar’s reverb blurs images of diseased architecture.
As some melodies resemble those of Experimental Film (you know, the Homestar Runner song?), Character Flaw is an unflawed, rollback through the years, led by vintage organ and Linnell’s “extra crazy sauce on the side”.
Simply titling an album finale “They Might Be Feral” is sweet on paper; the warmth of its outward-stretched, simplistic chorus feels like its own happy embrace to audience. Great effect to have whilst actually lampooning conservative idealism.
The album is happy to make such barbs, when necessary, when buddied up with artistic contrasts. An instruction to avoid disaster masquerades as a strutting, funk-disco song on Get Down – as clever and crafty as it is genuine – whilst Sleep’s Older Sister and Let’s Fall in Lava each make the most of fleeting joys; a brisk breeze subtly sways as narrator and song journey on the former.
Flipping the above formula, New Wave Will Never Die contains a serious tone wrapped in a joke, in which new wave is more deserving of preservation than anything. A claim of “I’m gonna swap out my brain for a chrome raccoon / like they did in that movie Chrome Raccoon” is met, on Back in Los Angeles, with strings that cover the song in mystery – this is the only TMBG album to begin like a Last Shadow Puppets album.
If all else had failed, this would have been a good chance for TMBG to reinvent itself as a garage band. Some of the best songs of The World Is to Dig contain ‘nuts and bolts’ rock instrumentation; Je N’en Ai Pais (alongside a few classic YEAHHHs), Outside Brain (nostalgic psych-y garage rock), In the Dead Mall (blues rock), and What the Cat Dragged In (more bluesy big band with a Cab Calloway vibe).
In 2026, we still rely on the funny guys to save the day. Bashing fists against nihilism’s walls, The World Is to Dig is a poignant addition to They Might Be Giants’ remarkable catalogue, endearing, helpful, no matter how facile one may deem a musician’s role to be in alleviating the world.
The album comes following John Flansburgh’s car accident, and Linnell’s health scare. Co-produced, as per usual, with old pal Pat Dillett, The World Is to Dig is a restorative, unifying array of classic TMBG geek rock. It is to dig.
Best tracks – Garbage In – Get Down – Character Flaw – They Might Be Feral.
Rating – 8.5 out of 10
