TMBG's Upcoming 24th Album
 |
Studio album by They Might Be Giants | |||||
| First released | Early 2026 | Tracks | 18 | Last album | BOOK | |
| Label | Idlewild Recordings | Length | TBA | |||
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The 24th studio album by They Might Be Giants is currently in production.
Contents
Background[edit]
John Flansburgh and John Linnell began mentioning their work on the next album in interviews during BOOK's press cycle, such as this quote from John Flansburgh in an October 18, 2021 Stereogum interview:
Writing and recording and doing this stuff, it's such a strange compulsion for us, and it's something that we do whether we're prompted to or not. I mean, we're actually working in earnest right now on the next album, and this album [BOOK] hasn't even come out yet. So it is something that we just do. But that's healthy. I think having a laboratory environment for your songwriting and whatever your creative process is, treating it like it's just one big experiment is a great way to work, and it's a great way to feel.
In April 2024, signups began for the year's edition of the TMBG Instant Fan Club, with the upcoming album included as one of the main perks, said to be delivered later in 2024.
Sessions[edit]
The first studio photos and clips from the album's production were posted on the @tmbgofficial Instagram on October 2 & 3, 2021[1][2][3][4][5][6], with more six months later on April 12, 2022[7].
On the November 18, 2022 edition of the annual They Might Be Playing They Might Be Giants radio show, John Flansburgh mentioned during a call-in interview that he had to finish a song that night called "You Heart Your Bad Attitude,"[8] though he did not mention if it was an album-bound track.
The next studio session days referenced on TMBG's social media came in early 2023, with photos and posts on February 15, 16, 23, 28 and March 1.[9][10][11][12][13] In an interview published March 8, John Linnell mentioned that they were making progress on recording the next album:
I think we've got about ten tracks that are done, or tracked anyway. But ideally, we get like, 20 or 30 songs together before we even decide what the album should be made up of. In the past, I think the best albums we've made, we got like, 30 songs finished, and then we picked the best ones to put on the album. Or the ones that go together as an album, I guess is a better way of putting it. We're not even halfway through that process, but we are busy. We’re very busy working on stuff, and I'm pretty happy with what we've got so far.
In November 2023, the band returned to the studio to "continue our musical efforts for 2024's release schedule," according to their email newsletter. A photo featuring a miniature figure of Linnell behind a studio microphone was posted to Instagram on November 14.[14] On December 7, Mark Pender posted a photograph of himself, Stan Harrison and Dan Levine in the studio recording for TMBG.[15]
Build-Up[edit]
A new song titled "The Glamour Of Rock" debuted at a concert on May 9th, 2024 at Mr. Smalls Theater in Pittsburgh, with Flansburgh confirming that it would be included on the upcoming album. It had previously been previewed by Flansburgh on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter videos uploaded on September 24, 2022 and January 15, 2023.
They Might Be Giants confirmed in a June 2024 radio interview that they hoped to release the album by the end of the year, likely around the holiday season. In a July 2024 interview, Linnell said the band had "an entire, pretty much, finished album in the can now [and] people can look out for that at the end of this year. We spent a couple years working on it 'cause everything has kind of slowed down in terms of our touring, so we've had lots of time in the studio writing and recording."
In an August 2024 interview, Linnell revealed the potential number of tracks for the album:
I just got an email from Flansburgh. He's proposing a sequence for it, and his proposal is for an 18-song album, [which] is a very They Might Be Giants length of album. I'm very happy with what we've got so far, and there's time to record any last-minute entries as well. That'll be out at the end of this year or beginning of next year, something like that.
On the November 15, 2024 annual They Might Be Playing They Might Be Giants radio show, John Flansburgh mentioned during an interview that the album had been almost entirely mixed, except one track, which needed string parts to be recorded when the band returned from their November 2024 UK tour dates. As the year drew to a close, it became apparent that the initial release window of late 2024 mentioned on the Instant Fan Club signup page would be missed.
In a February 2025 interview, Flansburgh spoke more about the state of the album:
We are essentially done, unless we're not. It doesn't have a firm release date, and it doesn't have a cover. I can tell you both of those things are happening, but you know, maybe there'll be some last-minute adjustments. It'll be out sometime relatively soon, and it's a very strong record. I'm into it. But again, you know, only time will tell. There's a song with strings, and there's a bunch of songs with horns. It's like a big production.
Updates about the album came sparingly in the months that followed. When asked by a fan at the TMBG Q&A on JoCo Cruise in March for a tease about the upcoming album, Flansburgh only replied, "Why so long?"[16] In May, when asked on Tumblr when to expect the next album, Flansburgh replied, "Before Christmas!"[17] In a June radio appearance on KEXP, Flansburgh was asked what was next for TMBG and mentioned, "In the very beginning of September, we've got to record a hit song, and then we'll be done. We're going to write a hit song that changes everything and makes everyone go like, 'I don't know about those guys.'"[18] Later that evening on Tumblr, Flansburgh reiterated, "We have one final round of sessions booked for September and then it will be done. So that's what we'll do with our summer vacations."[19]
On a TikTok Live on August 27, Flansburgh confirmed the album's name had just been selected, but he did not reveal it on the stream. On September 8, Flansburgh posted a clip on his Instagram story of the band practicing a previously unheard song at their Brooklyn rehearsal space, which began with the lyric, "This is what you get."[20] The band headed to Reservoir Studios the next day to finish recording the album on September 9, 10, and 11. During the sessions, Dan Miller posted photos to Instagram[21], Flansburgh confirmed on Tumblr the band was tracking at least five songs[22][23], and a short clip was uploaded of Linnell playing a Jenco celesta[24], most likely during the recording of "Overnight Sensation". The next week, Flansburgh posted that the band was in the studio mixing, mentioning that "Album 24 is coming into focus."[25][26] A few weeks later on a September 26 Instagram livestream, Flansburgh played very brief instrumental clips from two new songs, one from the album and one featuring horns that didn't make the album.[27]