An
extended play album released by
They Might Be Giants on
April 6th, 2004 that bridged the gap between their
2002 children's album
No! (that also included them collaborating with author
Marcel Dzama for a children's book called
Bed Bed Bed) and the release of their tenth full length album
The Spine, an album of more typical
TMBG fare, that was released only three months after "Indestructible Object."
The EP's first song "Am I Awake" uses John Linnell's odd vocals and a series of drum loops to sum up the feeling of dozing off. The song was used as the theme to the 2003 miniseries "Resident Life" that aired on The Learning Channel.
Two songs on "Indestructible Object" ended up appearing on The Spine. The first being Memo to Human Resources, which paints a character sketch of an overworking loner who just can't get his life together. The tune is one of TMBG's most poignant efforts in recent years (lyric sample: I'm busy taking stock of all the things I've forgot/ And making mental notes of just exactly where I lost the plot).
Au Contraire, which also found its way onto The Spine, is a goofy number that drops pop culture references left and right, including a flying David Bowie, Franklin Delano Roosevelt complaining about a tie clashing with a hat, and Jodie Foster playing cards with Mahatma Gandhi. The EP version contains a flute solo by Doug Wieselman, yet The Spine version does not.
The album's fourth track, Ant tells a tale of an ant that crawling around people's beds as they sleep. About a minute ten into the song, as the ant becomes the President of the United States of America, it then decides to "ransack your house in the nighttime" and by then the song is ablaze with brass & synth greatness. I'm sure there's a political message in there someplace...but I couldn't find it. The song is great though.
The closer is a very heartfelt cover of The Beach Boys "Caroline, No." Using light percussion and a solid brass solo, it is exactly what a good cover should be. Not too unfaithful to the original with a great twist that allows you to appreciate both artist's versions of the song.
The tracklist for "Indestructible Object" is listed below:
1. Am I Awake?
2. Memo to Human Resources
3. Au Contraire
4. Ant
5. Caroline, No