The World Is to Dig is the upcoming 24th studio album by American alternative rock band They Might Be Giants that is scheduled to be released on April 14, 2026. The band has released the singles "Wu-Tang", "Sleep's Older Sister", "Outside Brain", and "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)".
The production of The World Is to Dig started prior to the release of They Might Be Giants' previous album Book. As The World Is to Dig was being recorded, the band changed earlier songs to more up tempo songs for the release. The songs of the album explore multiple genres and musical styles. The creation of The World Is to Dig was completed in late 2025.
The name of The World Is to Dig is inspired by the title of A Hole Is to Dig, a 1952 children's book. The album cover is mainly a painting of Yosemite Valley, credited to After Thomas Hill.
They Might Be Giants released the EP Eyeball in January 2026 as a "warm-up" release to The World Is to Dig. In 2026, John Linnell stated that the creation of the EP consists of some songs that were left over from The World Is to Dig by saying, "Our favorite way of making records [...] is to write and record too many songs and then arrange the ones that work together as an album. We always have a bunch of good tracks left over to make an EP".
In October 2021, John Flansburgh stated in a Stereogum interview that They Might Be Giants was working on The World Is to Dig even before Book was released.
In March 2023, John Linnell stated that ten songs had been recorded or tracked for the album as part of what Creative Loafing described as their regular process of "recording 20âÂÂ30 tracks and later selecting the best ones to include".
The band recorded the final version of The World Is to Dig over the course of a year. The Harvard Crimson stated that the band replaced songs from earlier versions of the album with more up tempo tracks for the release. In December 2025, Flansburgh stated that The World Is to Dig was almost finished and complete, though they were still continuing to work on the album.
While discussing The World Is to Dig lead single "Wu-Tang", Linnell stated that he had earlier envisioned creating a song about another band. He also stated that he wrote "Wu-Tang" as a celebration of the Wu-Tang Clan but in the form of a completely unrelated genre from the hip-hop collective. John Linnell explained that he was inspired to make the about the Wu-Tang Clan from their TV biopic, . Consequence described the song as "the first glimpse of what fans can expect" and that "Wu-Tang" has a "60s-esque sound". The Music Universe stated that "the song's lyric[s] celebrate the power of Wu-Tang Clan over a fan as a transformative force". Stereogum described "Wu-Tang" as a "power-pop tune" with lyrics that resemble the Wu-Tang Clan as a "guiding light through inner conflict and personal struggle". The Harvard Crimson stated that the harmony between John Linnell and John Flansburgh in "Wu-Tang" provide a similar feeling to earlier They Might Be Giants songs, such as "Subliminal". Staten Island Live stated that the chorus "features the band's two Johns singing the song's title repeatedly as they increasingly hit higher notes throughout..."
The other singles explore different genres. Spill Magazine stated that "They Might Be Giants move[d] into some new territory with a dreamy slice of neo-psychedelia with 'Sleep's Older Sister'". Spill Magazine also stated that, in the song "our heroes ponder the imponderables, [and] they meet up with Sleep's older sister to guide them across the River Styx into the great beyond".
The Music Universe stated that single "Outside Brain" is "propelled by John Flansburgh's smooth vocals as he unfurls a lyrical panic attack, all backed by Dan Miller's rip curl guitar and Danny Weinkauf's fluid bass lines". Flansburgh stated that "Outside Brain" is about "mania and panic, and is as much about the feelings of those twisted emotions as it is about any real storytelling in the lyrics". The Far Out Magazine stated that the song "Outside Brain" is "1990s nostalgia rampant throughout all forms of the cultural sphere, [and] the return of TMBG is always welcome". In addition, The Far Out Magazine also stated that "Outside Brain" "builds upon the Brooklyn duo's distinctive alt-rock twang, bridging the gap between their golden age output and more recent offerings".
The World Is to Dig includes a cover of 1974 single "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" by American pop rock band the Raspberries. John Linnell stated that although they never had a big hit in the U.S., he wanted to cover the song.
The title of The World Is to Dig is inspired by the 1952 children's book A Hole Is to Dig, written by Ruth Krauss and illustrated by Maurice Sendak.
They Might Be Giants almost used a photo of a natural sinkhole from The Washington Post as the cover art for the The World Is to Dig. When the deal was almost finished, the mass layoffs of The Washington Post ultimately put the band off from including it as the artwork. The final cover art is a Hudson River School painting of Yosemite Valley credited to After Thomas Hill, with the acorn illustration by Tony Millionaire.
The album's lead single, "Wu-Tang", was released on February 9, 2026, alongside the announcement of the The World Is to Dig and the reveal of its title. On March 3, 2026, They Might Be Giants released The World Is to Dig single "Sleep's Older Sister". They Might Be Giants released the single "Outside Brain" on March 16, 2026. On March 31, 2026, They Might Be Giants released the cover of "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" as a single.
The World Is to Dig is scheduled for release on CD, LP, cassette, as a digital download, and on all streaming services on April 14, 2026.
They Might Be Giants are scheduled to be touring "The Bigger Show Tour" in 2026. The tour is for the Eyeball EP and The World Is to Dig and will take place in support of the album. "The Bigger Show Tour", which is scheduled to start on April 17, will be performed by They Might Be Giants' eight-piece band that includes a three-piece horn section.
All tracks are written by They Might Be Giants, except where noted.
They Might Be Giants
Production