Factory Showroom
1996 studio album by They Might Be Giants
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Factory Showroom is the sixth studio album by the American alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, released in 1996 by Elektra Records. It was the band's first album to be produced by Pat Dillett, who would go on to work with the band on all subsequent albums, as well as their first album to feature a second guitarist, Eric Schermerhorn.[6]
April–August 1996
- River Sound (New York City)
- The Hit Factory (New York City)
- Sound on Sound (Montclair, New Jersey)
- Clinton (New York City)
- Coyote (New York City)
- The Edison Laboratory (West Orange, New Jersey)
| Factory Showroom | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 8, 1996[1] | |||
| Recorded | October 1995 ("New York City") April–August 1996 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 42:38 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Producer | Pat Dillett, They Might Be Giants | |||
| They Might Be Giants chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Factory Showroom | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Alternative Press | [2] |
| Chicago Tribune | [3] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide |  [4] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [5] |
Two years after Factory Showroom's release, John Flansburgh cited the album as his favorite by the duo. Feeling that Elektra did not do enough to promote the album, among other disputes, They Might Be Giants left the label after its release.[7]
Song notes
"I Can Hear You" was recorded at the Edison Laboratory on a wax cylinder phonograph without the use of electricity,[6] on April 27, 1996.[8]
Track listing
All tracks are written by They Might Be Giants, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 0. | "Token Back to Brooklyn (hidden track)" | 1:01 |
| 1. | "S-E-X-X-Y" (They Might Be Giants, Hal Cragin) | 3:52 |
| 2. | "Till My Head Falls Off" | 2:53 |
| 3. | "How Can I Sing Like a Girl?" | 4:32 |
| 4. | "Exquisite Dead Guy" | 2:02 |
| 5. | "Metal Detector" | 3:50 |
| 6. | "New York City" (Lisa Marr, Robynn Iwata, Lisa Nielsen) | 3:02 |
| 7. | "Your Own Worst Enemy" | 1:45 |
| 8. | "XTC vs. Adam Ant" | 3:36 |
| 9. | "Spiraling Shape" | 4:24 |
| 10. | "James K. Polk" (They Might Be Giants, Matthew Hill) | 3:05 |
| 11. | "Pet Name" | 4:04 |
| 12. | "I Can Hear You" | 1:57 |
| 13. | "The Bells Are Ringing" | 3:31 |
| Total length: | 42:38 | |
- "Token Back to Brooklyn" is a hidden track placed within the pregap of track 1.
- "James K. Polk" is a song about James Knox Polk, the 11th President of the United States. A sparser, drum machine driven version of James K. Polk had previously appeared on the Istanbul (Not Constantinople) EP (1990).
- "New York City" is a cover of the song by the band cub.
Personnel
Credits adapted from CD liner notes,[9] except where noted.
They Might Be Giants
- John Linnell – vocal, keyboards, horns, etc.
- John Flansburgh – vocal, guitar, etc.
- Brian Doherty – drums
- Graham Maby – bass guitar
- Eric Schermerhorn – lead guitar
Additional musicians
- Yuval Gabay – drums (0)[10]
- Krystof Witek – violin (1, 8)
- Gregor Kitzis – violin (1)
- Ron Lawrence – viola (1)
- Garo Yellin – cello (1, 4, 7–8)
- Tim Newman – trombone (1)
- Jim O'Connor – trumpet (1)
- Hal Cragin – bass guitar (1, 6, 8)
- Sue Hadjopoulos – congas (1, 11), percussion (1, 11)
- Mo' Funky Element – drum break sample (1)
- Jay Sherman-Godfrey – acoustic guitar (3), electric slide guitar (3)
- Steve Calhoon – drums (6)
- Lyle Workman – lead guitar (6)
- Ralph Farris – viola (8)
- Amy Allison – vocal (8)
- Steve Light – vibraphone (9)
- Julian Koster – singing saw (10)
- Ron Caswell – tuba (12)
- Amanda Homi – vocals (13)
Technical
- Pat Dillett – producer
- They Might Be Giants – producers
- Kurt Hoffman – string and horn arranger (1)
- Tom Durack – mixing (1–3, 5–6)
- Artie Smith – drum production
- Tony Gillis – engineer
- Greg Thompson – engineer
- David Goodermuth – engineer
- Albert Caiati – engineer
- Peter Dilg – producer (12)
- UE Nastasi – mastering
- Barbara Glauber (Heavy Meta) – design
- Beverly Joel – design assistant
- James Wojcik – photography
- Jonathan Hoefler – They Might Be Giants typeface