''Book'' (stylized as ''BOOK'') is the 23rd studio album by

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

-based

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...

, released on November 12, 2021. It was released as a digital download, a

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

, a

vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

, a

cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...

, an 8-track tape, and a hardcover book plus CD. The album was announced in July 2020. It was released along with a 144-page book which features lyrics from 14 of the 15 songs from the album, as well as songs from the accompanying "The Pamphlet" EP and other recent They Might Be Giants albums. The lyrics appear in the form of shape poems with accompanying photos. ''Book'' was nominated for a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

award for

Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package The Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package has been presented since 1995 to an album's art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, ...

Critical reception

On ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'' Heather Phares wrote, "Comprising an album and a 144-page collection of photos by Brian Karlsson and lyrics expressively rendered by a 1970s IBM Selectric typewriter, ''Book'' is an audiovisual celebration of the band's enduring strengths... Consistently entertaining with a few flashes of brilliance, ''Book'' kicks off the band's fifth decade of music-making with substance and style." On ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' Chris Conaton said, "After 40 years and 20-plus albums that span many, many genres but are almost always filled with big hooks and endearing bizarreness, They Might Be Giants are as energetic and interesting as ever. The fact that they've always had an absurdist bent and an experimental side essentially lets them do whatever they want.... 'Book'' isa thoroughly enjoyable record from start to finish." In ''Glide Magazine'' Shawn Donohue wrote, "The album is accompanied by a 144-page full-color, cloth-bound hardcover which features original work by Brooklyn photographer Brian Karlsson and lyrics selected from several TMBG albums set in typographical illustrations by graphic designer Paul Sahre.... On ''Book'' (the record) They Might Be Giants continue to pump out what they always have, smart earworm pop tunes that are slightly odd, tastefully corny and instantly catchy."

Track listing

Personnel

They Might Be Giants * John Flansburgh – vocals, guitars, programming, etc. *

John Linnell John Sidney Linnell ( ; born June 12, 1959) is an American musician, known primarily as one half of the Brooklyn-based alternative rock band They Might Be Giants with John Flansburgh, which was formed in 1982. In addition to singing and songwri ...

– vocals, keyboards, woodwinds, etc. Backing band * Dan Miller – guitar * Danny Weinkauf – bass * Marty Beller – drums, percussion Additional musicians * Curt Ramm – trumpet * Dan Levine – trombone, bass trombone *

Stan Harrison Stan Harrison (born December 8, 1953) is an American saxophonist who is also accomplished in playing other woodwind instruments, namely the horn, flute and clarinet. He has also written music for television. Harrison released his first solo album ...

– baritone saxophone, flute Production * Produced by

Patrick Dillett Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...

and They Might Be Giants * Mixing: Patrick Dillett, Thom Beemer * Engineering: James Yost, Thom Beemer, Matthew Sullivan * Mastering: UE Nastasi * Art direction:

Paul Sahre Paul Sahre (born 1964) is an American graphic designer. He has designed book covers and created numerous illustration for ''The New York Times.'' Biography Sahre (pronounced say-er) was born in Johnson City in upstate New York, and received hi ...

* Photography: Brian Karlsson

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2021 albums Idlewild Recordings albums They Might Be Giants albums Albums produced by Pat Dillett