This entry for They Might Be Giants’ ‘Thermostat’ makes it the last representative from the band’s 1994 John Henry album that’ll ever appear on this blog. Makes it nine songs from there in total, just less than half the overall number. We had a good run. One of the first tracks I ever covered here was from there, it goes back a long way. Speaking from my own point of view as They Might Be Giants fan, I know John Henry is a big fan favourite. Mine, not so much. Maybe in the middle somewhere for me, which in a discography of 23 studio albums doesn’t mean all that much. I have my favourites on there, but I’m never compelled to listen to the thing from front to back. It was the first one made after Johns Flansburgh and Linnell expanded their duo setup into a full band with a real bass guitarist and drummer. They sounded like a proper rock band, but it feels like there’s a little less variety. A lot of horn sections on display throughout, if you feel any way about those.

And talking about horn, there’s quite the presence of them on ‘Thermostat’. Unlike a few other numbers from John Henry – ‘Meet James Ensor’, ‘Destination Moon’, ‘AKA Driver’, which I’d known of since at least 2004 through a different set of circumstances – ‘Thermostat’ was one I came across when I was properly getting into the band’s discography in 2010/2011. Was really into my pirating albums from various websites phase around that time. Streaming wasn’t around, it’s all you could do. Anyone remember mp3crank.com? Going off-topic. As the 16th track on a 20-track album, ‘Thermostat’ comes at a point where, on any other album, you would probably be wandering how the whole package would end. But luckily, the song keeps things rolling to keep your focus going. I think, initially, it was its chorus and melody that caught my attention. The act of controlling the temperature on a thermostat is sung to you by John Linnell quite comprehensively. The fact that it’s about a faulty thermostat in a car that’s in the process of crashing didn’t set in till a bit later.

What I’d consider to be the focal point of the entire track is Linnell’s vocal and melody. He’s such a master of the latter, I don’t know how he does it. Like, he uses an entirely different melody for the second verse than the first. That’s not something you get a lot. But then there are other aspects in ‘Thermostat’ that I pick out and think, “Hey, that’s quite cool’. Like how John Flansburgh plays only three notes on his guitar that ring out during the choruses. How the chorus itself is technically in 10/4 timing. Or that slight phasing effect on Linnell’s voice during its last moments. It’s a solid album tune. The song hasn’t been played live by TMBG since 1995. I don’t know if that means something. I think people would get a kick out of hearing it, even if it might not be considered to be the biggest highlight. But I know if there’s any group of people out there who appreciate their favourite group’s deep cuts, it’s They Might Be Giants fans.