- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Even if The Spine is decidedly uneven, it still has enough good songs to please diehard fans and keep them around for the next album.
-
BlenderToo often... their ideas are dead ends. [Aug 2004, p.140]
-
Solid, if unspectacular.
-
MojoNothing on The Spine drills into your cerebral cortex and demands to be whistled on public transport like earlier hits, but the tunes are agreeable enough. [Aug 2004, p.99]
-
New Musical Express (NME)At least 40 per cent of 'The Spine' is really rather charming. [3 Jul 2004, p.65]
-
Not a bad album, yet contains too many mediocre tracks to be comforting.
-
Q MagazineAlas, for all its genuine charm and the way the two Johns genre-hop without leaving footprints, The Spine lacks the spark of true greatness. [Aug 2004, p.119]
-
They might not be as manic and frantic... But The Spine rocks without any loss of wit or melody.
-
For most of The Spine, They Might Be Giants hammers its quirks into predictable shapes, mistaking catchy for listenable ("Prevenge"), layering on effects to bolster the dull ("Bastard Wants To Hit Me"), and generally delivering what's expected.
-
"It's Kickin' In" sounds like Linnell doing karaoke over a failed garage rock single, and most of the rest sounds like, well, Fountains of Wayne.
-
Under The RadarAnother solid addition to the Giants' catalogue, but as with their last few records, it doesn't seem likey they put their back into it. [#7]
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 17 out of 19
-
Mixed: 0 out of 19
-
Negative: 2 out of 19
-
JasonFJul 19, 2007
-
WesleyMApr 10, 2006Agreed with Chuckie Mustdie. A strong, consistent effort that brings us several of TMBG's best since John Henry.
-
SeanDec 7, 2005