''The Spine'' is the tenth studio album by

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants, often abbreviated as TMBG, is an American alternative rock and Children's music, children's band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as ...

. The album was released on July 5, 2004 in the UK, and July 13 in the US. The album was released alongside a companion EP, '' The Spine Surfs Alone''. It was preceded by the '' Indestructible Object'' EP, which featured two tracks that appear on ''The Spine''.

Promotion

Three music videos were produced for ''The Spine''. The first, a

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Barry Allen ** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flash ...

-animated video for "Experimental Film", was created in conjunction with

The Brothers Chaps Matthew Alan Chapman (born November 1, 1976) and Michael Raymond Chapman (born September 20, 1973), known collectively as The Brothers Chaps, are American writers, voice actors, directors, animators, producers and composers. They are best known a ...

, and features characters from their animated series ''

Homestar Runner ''Homestar Runner'' is an American comedy animated web series and website created by Mike and Matt Chapman, known collectively as The Brothers Chaps. The series centers on the adventures of a large and diverse cast of characters, headed by the ...

''. An animated music video for "Bastard Wants to Hit Me" appears on the DVD for '' Venue Songs''. The video was directed by Aaron Sorenson and Courtney Booker of

Laika Laika ( ; , ; – 3 November 1957) was a Soviet space dog who was one of the first animals in space and the first to orbit the Earth. A stray mongrel from the streets of Moscow, she flew aboard the Sputnik 2 spacecraft, launched into lo ...

. The video was nominated for the

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...

for "Best Animated Television Commercial" in 2005. A music video for "Damn Good Times" was animated with previous band collaborator Divya Srinivasan.

Track listing

Reception

''The Spine'' received mixed reviews from critics. Writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Heather Phares found that John and John had already exhausted the album's best content on the preceding EP, '' Indestructible Object''. Phares concluded that the album contained a few engaging hooks, but was overall inconsistent. Josh Modell of ''The AV Club'' berated the album's lack of "idiosyncrasies", and reported that ''The Spine'' was generally unsurprising. Contrarily, Patrick Schabe of PopMatters lauded the album for its uncharacteristically traditional rock arrangements.

References

External links

*'' The Spine'' on This Might Be A Wiki * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spine, The 2004 albums Self-released albums They Might Be Giants albums Albums produced by Pat Dillett Cooking Vinyl albums Idlewild Recordings albums Zoë Records albums