I was a bit underwhelmed on the first couple of listens to Mink Car, but it is definitely growing on me. In structure, it's more like their classic albums Flood and Apollo 18 than the more conventional but still catchy Factory Showroom, though with the same band feel of that album. All the hallmark of their appeals are here: lyrical nimbleness, great arrangements with catchy tunes, with a subtle edge to their pathos. Plus the requisite goofy oddities. In the end, The Two Johns haven't lost it, and even having their songs featured on so-so TV sitcoms hasn't affected them. (Who the fuck watches "Malcolm In The Middle" anyway?)

"Man, It's So Loud In Here" is great with its vaguely New Order-ish arrangements, "My Man"'s offbeat observations comparing spinal columns with underwater cables in, and I don't what the heck "Cyclops Rock" is about but it, err, rocks. And is that a dig at Lars Ulrich on "Working Undercover For The Man"? (Planning midnight raids on our fans/While the roadies rig the video surveillance van) Could be. Oh yeah, and the quirky cover this time around is Greg Matthews' theme song, "Yeh Yeh". A couple of downers: "Wicked Little Critta" is bloody annoying, even by TMBG standards, and the studio version of "Another First Kiss" isn't quite as neat as the live power-pop raveup on Severe Tire Damage.