Jobie Reviews Music 104: I Like Fun (album) by They Might Be Giants. Requested by Flux.

I Like Fun is a 2018 alternative rock album by the band They Might Be Giants. It is 15 tracks long, spanning 40 minutes and 51 seconds of music. The album’s main highlight is its interesting instrumentation, which makes use of not just the guitar, but also a wide variety of other musical instruments. These include, among other things, a piano, an electronic instrument that I can’t determine the identity of (probably a synth, though), and even an isolated drum in one track.

It is with this regard that the album makes itself stand out, having a blend of great vocals along with a musically interesting sound. On the first listen, I wasn’t all that impressed by the track “Let’s Get This Over With”. I thought it was a nice track, but not a good one, per se. That is, until I finished said first listen and replayed it. I now realize that this track is actually a pretty good track, with its distinctive percussion that’s part of its instrumentation, accompanied with great vocals.

Another thing that’s great about this album is the previously mentioned guitar. It’s actually quite nice on this album, being the foreground for the albums aforementioned interesting, multilayered instrumentation. It’s one of the defining parts of the albums, being what brings all of the album’s little details together. To put it simply, the guitar on this album sounds great, going with the other instruments very well.

Elaborating further on the great vocals, they go great with the equally good lyrics. They aren’t at all repetitive, yet still manage to be very catchy. The great instrumentation, along with the vocals, enhances the catchy choruses that the album delivers, being another defining part of the album.

I would also like to briefly comment on the track “I Like Fun”, which is a departure from how the rest of the album sounds. Unlike the other tracks, which incorporate guitars and a variety of other instruments in its instrumentation, this track consists solely of drums and a trumpet. Despite it being drastically different from other tracks on the album, it still remains a good track. It reminds me of marching band music, with its sound feeling like it would almost fit right into a marching routine of some sort. A very welcome, and interesting, divergence.

My favorite tracks from this album are “All Time What”, “Mrs. Bluebeard”, “Push Back the Hands”, and “Last Wave”.

Overall, I Like Fun is a great showcase of an album that has great instrumentation, vocals, good lyrics that accompany those vocals, and an interesting composition. With its very nice composition, which ranges from a blend of electronic sounds to a marching-band-esque track. An interesting listen for sure.

Overall rating:

8.8/10

LINK TO ALBUM:

https://open.spotify.com/album/0NphwDR3zIVfULKcBDQ9Ap?si=80zYP6ErTfy5KBaDAHa6Zw